Muslim Council of Britain Urges Unity in Face of Far-Right Riots, Saying That 'Thugs' Do Not Represent Most Britons
New Age Islam News Bureau
08 Aug 2024
Teams repair the road and garden walls around the
Southport Islamic Society Mosque that has been attacked by the far-right
extremists, following a knife attack in which 3 children were killed and 10
people, including 8 children, were injured in Southport, UK on July 31, 2024.
------------
·
Muslim Council of Britain Urges Unity in Face
of Far-Right Riots, Saying That 'Thugs' Do Not Represent Most Britons
·
Amendment to the Waqf Act: Modi Govt Finds a
Familiar Supporter in All India Sufi Sajjada Nashin Council; Sufi Council Asks
for A Separate Dargah Board
·
Indian TV News Blame US, China, Pakistan for
Bangladesh, Call It ‘Islamist Takeover’
·
US Democrats Introduce Bill to Prevent Future
Muslim Bans
·
Pakistan Extends Solidarity to People of
Bangladesh, Wishes 'Swift Return to Normalcy'
Europe
·
London riots: North London Jewish and Muslim
leaders reject hate
·
Worcester stands with its Muslim communities
amid UK riots
·
PSNI officers will ‘stand in harm’s way’ to
protect Muslim community, says chief constable
·
UK sees fresh anti-racism protests after
violent riots against Muslims, migrants
·
Muslim activists apologise after pub-goers
mistaken for far-right group in attack
·
Muslim service to take place on the National
Eisteddfod Maes for the first time
·
UK riots: ‘I’m a trans Muslim – all
marginalised communities must stand against violence’
·
Liverpool Imam who reached out to rioters says
'don't fight fire with fire'
·
UK religious leaders condemn anti-Muslim riots,
call for harmony
·
Taylor Swift’s Vienna Concerts Cancelled Over
Islamist Attack Plot
--------
India
·
CBI Takes Over Probe into Death of Muslim Man
Forced to Sing National Anthemand ‘Vande Mataram’During The 2020 Northeast
Delhi Riots
·
‘Draconian, enemy of Muslims’: Opposition vs
BJP over Waqf Amendment Bill | Who said what in Lok Sabha
·
"No Interference in Any Religious Body":
Kiren Rijiju Defends Waqf Bill
·
Waqf Laws of War-Torn Muslim Nations Like
Syria, Iraq Are More Modern Than India's. Here’s How
·
Safe in India, worried for family: Bangladeshis
at Aligarh Muslim University
·
J&K bureaucrats get an earful from High
Court: ‘Ignoring orders, cocky’
·
BSF thwarts infiltration bid by Bangladeshi
group in West Bengal
·
Bangladesh crisis lesson for India;
dictatorships don’t last long: Mufti
·
At Tripura’s Indo-Bangla check post, Indians
recount moments of panic, Bangladeshis say vandalism brought shame to their
country
--------
South Asia
·
Afghanistan’s Population Census Estimates 35.7
Million Amid Controversy
·
Antony Blinken urged to halt US aid to
Afghanistan
·
4% increase in Pakistan’s exports to
Afghanistan
·
US spends $21 billion on Afghanistan after
troop withdrawal
·
IEA responsible for providing services for
people, Hanafi
·
AAA starts first-ever flight to Jeddah
·
IOM report on Afghan immigration untrue
---------
North America
·
The Mutual Fascinations of the Low Countries
and Muslim-Majority Lands
·
CAIR-MN Calls for Resignation of Lino Lakes
City Council Member Who Said Hate-Filled, Anti-Muslim Email is ‘Best I have
Ever Received’
·
Washington protects Israel by sending
ship-based jets to West Asia base: US Official
--------
Pakistan
·
Uzair Baloch Acquitted InKarachi In 15-Year-Old
Police Encounter Case
·
Imran ‘ready to apologise’ if PTI role in riots
proved
·
ECP Asked To Restore Its Prestige By Giving 41
NA Seats To PTI
·
CJP regrets delay in dispensation of justice to
murder convict
·
Pakistan, Iraq Agree On Free Entry Visas,
Special Flights for Arbaeen Pilgrims
·
PTI challenges bill barring lawmakers from
changing party affiliation in SC
·
Positive talks held with Jamaat-e-Islami, says
minister
·
Interior Minister assures full cooperation for
peace in KP
·
Pakistani Americans express solidarity with
Kashmiris
---------
Mideast
·
Israel Vows to ‘Eliminate’ New Hamas Leader as
War Enters 11th Month
·
Muslim Bloc Meeting Holds Israel Responsible
for Assassination of Hamas’ Haniyeh
·
Rights groups condemn Iran’s ‘abhorrent’
execution of protester
·
Pan-Islamic grouping convenes to discuss
Israeli ‘crimes’
·
Islamic Jihad congratulates Hamas on choosing
Sinwar as politburo head
·
Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards
·
Fatalities in Israeli attack include head of
Hezbollah’s anti-tank rocket unit
·
Over 1,000 UK troops ready to evacuate nearly
16,000 Britons from Lebanon amid fears of war escalation
·
Kurdish fighters kill Turkish soldier in Iraq:
ministry
--------
Arab World
·
Swedish Tourist Hails Locals’ ‘Pure Kindness’
After Motorcycle Journey Through Saudi Arabia
·
Changes to Saudi labor law set to increase job
stability, protect workers’ rights
·
Innovative Saudi VR projects to be developed
following Ithra’s Creative Solutions Residency
·
118 colleges added to Saudi Cultural
Scholarship Program
·
Madinah governor cites King Salman Medical
City’s for obtaining accreditation
·
Saudi deputy FM meets with Palestine’s
representative to UN on sidelines of OIC meeting
·
Saudi engineer teaches Arabic to children,
refugees in Europe
·
Hamas leader’s killing risks ‘wider conflict,’
OIC chair warns
·
Saudi Arabia to host space tourism firm’s test
flight
·
Saudi students begin Oxford AI training
--------
Southeast Asia
·
Indonesia Urges Ceasefire and Peace as Yahya
Sinwar Takes Over Hamas Leadership
·
Malaysia’s Efforts to License Social Media
Platforms Attract Attention Of Many Countries - Fahmi
·
Mohamad voices Malaysia’s stance on Palestinian
issue in emergency OIC meeting
·
‘Creating new social media platform may not be
practical’
·
Indonesia Urges Ceasefire and Peace as Yahya
Sinwar Takes Over Hamas Leadership
·
Police say didn’t call suspect in Albertine Leo
case paedophile, only reported CSAM discovery
·
How does Bangladesh in turmoil affect Malaysia,
one of its top 10 trade partners
·
New Infineon fab in Kulim marks significant
milestone for Kedah, Malaysia - Anwar
--------
Africa
·
Tunisia's president dismisses Prime Minister,
names new successor
·
Tunisian opposition figure Moussi sentenced to
prison ahead of October election
·
‘Tinubu’s Speech Empty, FG Should Stop Giving
Excuses’ – Governor Bala Mohammed
·
‘Security Operatives Knew Kano Would Be
Attacked And They Allowed It’ – Sanusi
·
Soldiers rescue abducted ex-LG chairman, arrest
Boko Haram commanders, others
·
Why Amnesty For Boko Haram Fighters Is Ineffective
-NHRC Boss
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
Muslim
Council of Britain urges unity in face of far-right riots, saying that 'thugs'
do not represent most Britons
07.08.2024
Teams
repair the road and garden walls around the Southport Islamic Society Mosque
that has been attacked by the far-right extremists, following a knife attack in
which 3 children were killed and 10 people, including 8 children, were injured
in Southport, UK on July 31, 2024.
-------------
The
Muslim Council of Britain on Wednesday said that “thugs do not represent"
the vast majority of Britons, urging unity in the face of recent far-right
violence across the country.
"We
know many communities across the UK remain fearful of violent far-right
extremist riots," Zara Mohammed, the group’s secretary-general, said on X.
"We know these thugs do not represent the vast majority of Britons who
stand with us against such hatred and Islamophobia."
In a
video message, Mohammed said: "We have not experienced this much violence
and hatred in a very long time."
Noting that
she has been in touch with mosques across the country and is aware of the
"real threat" they are under, she gave some advice, starting with
being safe.
"First,
stay safe, whether it's your personal safety or the safety of your mosque
community center business, please be cautious," she said, urging people to
do risk assessment, be in touch with the police, and make sure they taking
every precaution to be vigilant in these "very, very difficult and dark
times."
"Remember
to reach out to your allies, friends, neighbors, and to be united and make sure
this hate doesn't win,” she added.
Lastly,
she asked people to keep faith.
"We
know our communities have been through so much, and these are just testing
times, and we will overcome them once more," she added.
The UK
has been rocked by turmoil for days, with violent far-right rioters spewing
racist and Islamophobic vitriol targeting Muslims, minority groups, and
migrants.
The
riots were fueled by false claims spread online that a suspect arrested for the
July 29 fatal stabbing of three children in Southport was a Muslim asylum
seeker.
Authorities
have since identified the attacker as Axel Rudakubana, a 17-year-old born in
Cardiff, Wales to Rwandan parents, but this has done little to deter the
far-right mobs.
Source: aa.com.tr
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/muslim-council-of-britain-urges-unity-in-face-of-far-right-riots-saying-that-thugs-do-not-represent-most-britons/3298085
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Amendment
totheWaqf Act: Modi Govt Finds a Familiar Supporter in All India Sufi Sajjada
Nashin Council;Sufi Council Asks forA Separate Dargah Board
August
8, 2024
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi arrives at opening ceremony of World Sufi Forum at
Vigyan Bhawan in 2016. (Express archive photo by Renuka Puri)
-------------
All
India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council supports plans for changes in the Act calling
the same long overdue, also calls for a Dargah Board
August
7, 2024
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi arrives at opening ceremony of World Sufi Forum at
Vigyan Bhawan in 2016. (Amid the ongoing tussle between the government and
Opposition over the proposal to amend the Waqf Act, the All India Sufi
Sajjadanashin Council (AISSC) on Tuesday said that it supports the government’s
proposal to amend the Act and that it was long overdue.
Government
sources have maintained that a Bill will soon be tabled in Parliament to amend
the 1995 law governing Waqf Boards. It has said that the new Bill will “ensure
more accountability and transparency in their functioning and mandatory
inclusion of women in these bodies”.
At a
press conference in New Delhi on Tuesday, AISSC chairman Syed Naseeruddin
Chishty, who is also the successor of the Ajmer Sharif Dargah’s Dewan, said
that a separate Dargah Board should be introduced under the amendments to the
Waqf Act.
“In the
Waqf Act currently effective, there is no mention of Dargahs at all. The Waqf
Boards do not recognise the traditions of the Dargah as many of our traditions
are not there in sharia, so we demand a separate Dargah Board,” he said.
Chishty
claimed the Waqf Boards work in a “dictatorial manner” in their present form
and have no transparency.
“We are
hopeful that the draft Waqf Amendment Bill will be comprehensive and serve the
interests of all stakeholders. Following a thorough examination of the draft,
we intend to submit our recommendations and proposal,” he added.
Others
who were present at the press conference included Abdul Qadhar Qadri, national
coordinator of the AISSC, Hyderabad; Syed Ali Zaki, Hussaini, Karnataka state
president of the AISSC; and Fareed Ahmed Nizami, head of the Nizamuddin Auliya
Dargah and Delhi president of the AISSC.
The
AISSC representatives, including its chairman, met National Security Advisor
(NSA) Ajit Doval and Union Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday and
raised their concerns.
“We were
given assurance by the NSA and the Minority Affairs Minister that all the
stakeholders will be consulted and the amendments will be in the interest of
Muslims,” Chishty said.
He also
said that Opposition leaders should not politicise the matter and wait for the
Bill to be tabled in Parliament before opposing it. “They are saying it is
against Muslims without even reading the draft of the Bill,” he said.
On
Tuesday, Rijiju said the AISSC delegation discussed a range of important issues
concerning the Muslim community and added that it was a “fruitful” and “forward
looking” discussion.
“Last
evening a delegation of the All India Sufi Sajjadanashin Council (AISSC)
comprising the most revered & prominent Sajjadanashins from various Dargahs
across India met me under the leadership of Shri Syed Naseruddin Chishty, Chairman
& Successor of the Present Spiritual Head of Ajmer Dargah to discuss a
range of important issues concerning the Muslim community. It was a fruitful
& forward looking discussion. They lauded & praised the efforts of PM
Shri @narendramodi ji towards the welfare of the entire community and
minorities in general. They also committed themselves towards the Sankalp of
Viksit Bharat 2047. Shri Shehzad Poonawalla, national spokesperson of BJP, was
also present,” Rijiju said in a post on X.
Since
reports emerged of the government’s plans to amend the Waqf Act, several
Opposition parties have said they would resist any plans by the government to
bring a Bill in Parliament to make changes in the Waqf law.
The BJP
has said such a Bill is necessary to bring “transparency” in the management of
waqf properties across the country. The Congress, though, is yet to comment on
the issue.
Government
sources told The Indian Express that as many as 40 amendments to the Waqf Act
are under consideration, including curtailing the powers of Waqf Boards,
through a Bill likely to be tabled in Parliament this week. Among other things,
the amendments will make it mandatory to include women in Waqf bodies, said
sources in the government, adding that “the move comes in the backdrop of demands
from within the Muslim community”.
The All
India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) had Sunday said that any interference
with the nature of the Waqf properties and legal status and powers of the Waqf
Boards will not be tolerated. It urged the NDA allies and the Opposition
parties to “completely reject any such move” and not allow such amendments to
be passed in Parliament.
At its
inter-faith conference in New Delhi two years ago, which was attended by Ajit
Doval, the AISSC had passed a resolution, calling for banning the Popular Front
of India (PFI) and any religious organisation involved in radicalism.
The
AISSC’s move to demand a clamp-down on the PFI was in sync with the stand it
had taken on several issues – from seeking curbs on radical Islamic factions in
the country to backing various Narendra Modi government’s announcements with
regard to the Muslim community.
The
AISSC has, however, regularly drawn criticism from other Muslim organisations,
and even from within the Sufi groups at times, for being “too close to the
central government”.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/modi-govt-waqf-act-amendment-sufi-council-9498504/
--------
Indian
TV News Blame US, China, Pakistan for Bangladesh, Call It ‘Islamist Takeover’
Shailaja
Bajpai
08
August, 2024
Quota
protests in Dhaka, Bangladesh | Photo: Deep Halder | ThePrint
------------
What is
India’s position on Bangladesh, especially after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
resigned and sought refuge in India, following weeks of violent protests?
In
Parliament, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said India was “maintaining
a wait and watch strategy”. He expressed concern for the “minorities” and their
property—in this case, Hindus who constitute roughly 8 per cent of the country’s
population.
Jaishankar
attributed the current situation in Bangladesh to “tensions” brewing since the
January 2024 general elections and “(the) growing polarisation in Bangladesh
politics…that aggravated a student agitation that started in June this year…”
(The Indian Express). At Tuesday’s all-party meeting, Jaishankar sidestepped
Rahul Gandhi’s specific query on the involvement of “foreign forces”.
For now,
the Indian government has decided to play it safe, naming no names in public
reactions on a situation that is volatile, violent and unpredictable—and where
lives are at stake. Discretion and quiet diplomacy are the watchwords.
Then
what to make of the “coup conspiracies” flooding television news—channels that
usually support the central government and reflect its views? On air, there is
an aggressive, no-holds-barred blame game, openly accusing Pakistan, China and
the US for the street uprisings in Bangladesh and the ousting of Hasina. All
caution has been abandoned.
Note
also that several news channels identified “intel sources” for information in
their stories. While lurid details of plans to oust the Hasina government,
supposedly being hatched across Europe and Asia, are eye-catching, is this
wise? We tend to dismiss television news for its sensationalism and biases but
these attacks on foreign countries’ governments go beyond the usual hyperbole.
Such
denouncements of the protests on TV news media could turn public opinion
against Bangladesh and whoever governs it. And, should countries, especially the
US, be pronounced guilty in throwaway phrases by TV news anchors?
Deep
state, coup conspiracy
On
Monday at prime time, DD News anchor Ashok Shrivastav called Bangladesh
“another Islamist” nation and wondered if students or “someone else” was behind
the loot and violence. He suggested that Bangladesh’s Jamaat-e-Islam,
Pakistan’s ISI, and China might be involved in the protests.
Shrivastav
spoke of the attacks on Hindus, and “200-year-old” temples. Who is behind it,
he asked, adding obscurely that those who supported “democracy” were very happy
with the turn of events—why?
Private
news channels had gone down this route much earlier. No sooner did Hasina land
in Hindon, near Delhi, early Monday evening than channels like Zee News talked
about “Pak wala coup”, the “ISI connection”, and secret meetings in London to
draw up plans for the agitation.
Times
Now Navbharat headlined the “China factor”. Republic Bharat said the “footprint
of extremism” and the Jamaat-e-Islami were written all over the agitation, while
Republic TV asked, “Global powers behind unrest?”
Anchor
Arnab Goswami went much further: He said China and the US were “happy” to see
Hasina go; and that India was their “target”. He said the coup “had American
fingerprints all over it…” Goswami warned us about the American ”deep state”
and Chinese intelligence “infiltrating” our society, to overturn “the verdict
of the people of India”. “If the Americans wanted to enter our backyard,” he
said, “we must respond on equal terms.” Heavy stuff.
On Times
Now, the prime-time anchor asked if “this was a student protest or an Islamist
take over?” in Bangladesh.
By
Tuesday, we were given details of the “conspiracy angle”, as NDTV 24×7 called
it. India Today said it was “plotted in London/executed in Dhaka”. Its anchor
Gaurav Sawant also referred to the “deep state,” the US, China and Pakistan. A
reporter elaborated: according to “exclusive intel sources”, the Opposition
Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) met Pakistani ISI officials in Saudi Arabia.
The “mastermind” was the Islamist student group, Bangladesh Islami Chhatra
Shibir (ICS), which “brainwashed” students into protests. There was “rampant”
anti-India material put out on social media after the January elections, he
added, as India was seen as an ally of Hasina’s.
India TV
told a very similar story of how Islamists exploited the students’ movement.
The objective was a change of government, explained TV 9.
Hindus
under attack
A
fallout of these stratagems was targeting the minority Hindus. News channels
were filled with images and videos of fires in homes, shops and temples being
vandalised. Priests recounted scary stories of the assaults. The ISKCON temple
was ransacked and pretty much gutted, said the priest to numerous channels.
In one
video on Times Now Navbharat, a woman (presumably a Hindu) was screaming in
fear. The channel said that Hindus were being singled out and attacked.
CNN-News 18 saw “Hindus under attack”. India TV and TV 9 presented a grim
picture of the continuously decreasing number of Hindus in Bangladesh, down
from 13.5 per cent in 1974 to 7 per cent in 2021, according to India TV. “Where
have they gone?” demanded the anchor.
Times
Now asked, “Why are Hindus under attack?”. The question wasn’t explored
although the inference was that they identified with India. The Hindu called
out India for being “complicit” in Hasina’s actions against the Opposition in
Bangladesh “by failing to advise her of the repercussions”. In “From hope to
despair”, the newspaper wrote, “(India) failed to engage (the Opposition)
losing goodwill on Dhaka’s streets.”
Songs of
Bangladesh
Lastly,
the events in Bangladesh poignantly reminded me of two songs by music stars
Joan Baez and George Harrison.
Song of
Bangladesh by Joan Baez:
“The story of Bangladesh
Is an
ancient one again made fresh
By blind
men who carry out commands
Which
flow out of the laws upon which nation stands
Which
say to sacrifice a people for a land”
And
Bangla Desh by Harrison of The Beatles fame which could have been written
today:
“Bangladesh,
Bangladesh
Such a
great disaster, I don’t understand
But it
sure looks like a mess
I’ve
never known such distress”
The
visuals we have seen since 5 August bear out these words only too tragically.
Between television news and social media, we have been shown a country in
chaos, going up in flames— “A country fast gone out of control”, said India
Today.
The
author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
Source: theprint.in
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://theprint.in/opinion/telescope/indian-tv-news-is-openly-blaming-us-china-pakistan-for-bangladesh-govt-isnt-stopping-them/2213761/
--------
US
Democrats introduce bill to prevent future Muslim bans
07.08.2024
Hedging
their bets over a possible Donald Trump return to the White House, a group of
Democratic lawmakers reintroduced a bill on Wednesday to prevent future
administrations from enacting Muslim bans.
Introduced
by Senator Chris Coons and Congresswoman Judy Chu, the National Origin-Based
Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act would strengthen federal
immigration law to prevent discrimination based on religion, and to ensure that
any use of the authority to suspend entry into the country is narrowly
tailored.
“A
hateful stain on our nation, Trump’s Muslim ban was inspired by bigotry and
Islamophobia and did lasting damage to the families it separated,” said Chu,
referring to restrictions ordered by then-President Trump soon after taking
office in 2017 on entries to the US of refugees from several majority-Muslim
nations. (Türkiye, Egypt, and other countries were not included.)
Trump
had threatened a “Muslim ban” before taking office, and is now seeking to
return to the presidency for a second term.
In a
statement, Chu added that she was "so grateful" when the
administration of Joe Biden, Trump’s successor, took action on its first day in
office in 2021 to rescind all versions of the ban, "but we can’t risk
letting prejudice against Muslims, or any other religious minority, become
policy once again."
Coons
said Trump’s Muslim ban was "cruel and counterproductive."
“It tore
apart families; led to the detention of people at airports for hours with
limited access to food, water, or legal representation; and violated the very
fabric of who we are as a country,” he added.
“We must
ensure that this senseless policy is never repeated and that no elected
official acts on fear and prejudice to discriminate based on religion or
nationality. That is why I’m reintroducing the NO BAN Act to prevent future
discriminatory travel bans and make sure our nation lives up to its highest
ideals.”
The bill
was originally introduced by Coons and Chu in 2019. The bill passed the House
of Representatives in both 2020 and 2021.
In 2021,
the administration of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the de facto
Democratic candidate against Trump’s return to the White House in this fall’s
elections, issued a statement in support of the legislation, calling the prior
ban “a stain on our national conscience ... inconsistent with our long history
of welcoming people of all faiths.”
Source: aa.com.tr
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/us-democrats-introduce-bill-to-prevent-future-muslim-bans/3298104
----------
Pakistan
extends solidarity to people of Bangladesh, wishes 'swift return to normalcy'
August
07, 2024
Anti-government
protestors march towards Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's palace as army
personnel stand guard in Shahbag area, near Dhaka university in Dhaka on August
5, 2024. — AFP
--------------
ISLAMABAD:
The Minister of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday it stood in support of the
Bangladeshi people, whose protests spanning over a period of a month led to the
ouster of an "autocratic" ruler — Sheikh Hasina.
In a
statement released by the spokesperson's office, the FO said Pakistan wishes
for peace and a swift return to normalcy in the country following the historic
uprising.
"Pakistan
is confident that the resilient spirit and unity of the Bangladeshi people will
lead them towards a harmonious future," the statement read.
Anti-government
protests in Bangladesh — which began as student-led demonstrations against
government hiring rules in July — concluded on Monday with the country's
"autocratic" prime minister Hasina fleeing to India and the military
announcing it would form an interim government.
At least
300 people were killed in more than a month of deadly protests that ended the
her rule after 15 long years.
Pakistan's
statement supporting the people of Bangladesh comes as a crucial step in
regional geopolitics, as Islamabad's ties with Dhaka earlier remained in the
shadow of Hasina's administration cosying up to New Delhi.
In the
wake of Hasina's departure from Dhaka, Bangladesh's parliament was also
dissolved following confirmation from the country's President Mohammed Shahabuddin's
office confirmed in a statement.
The
dissolution of the parliament came hours after protesting student leaders set a
deadline to dissolve parliament and warned a "strict programme" would
be launched if their deadline is not met.
The
decision to dissolve the parliament was taken following meetings with the heads
of defence forces, leaders of political parties, student leaders and some civil
society representatives, the presidential statement said.
Bangladesh's
Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman was due to meet student leaders to discuss
the formation of an interim government that is expected to hold elections soon
after it takes over.
General
Zaman, on Monday, had announced Hasina's resignation following days of violent
protests which have seen around 300 people being killed.
The
general also announced the formation of an interim government.
Nobel
laureate Muhammad Yunus will now be the chief adviser of the Bangladeshi
interim government, The Daily Star reported today, citing a Bangabhaban press release.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1217469-fo-extends-solidarity-to-people-of-bangladesh-wishes-swift-return-to-normalcy
--------
Europe
London
riots: North London Jewish and Muslim leaders reject hate
7th
August
Jewish
and Muslim leaders have posted statements on X condemning the threat of riots
across London this evening (August 7).
More
than 1,300 police officers have been deployed across the capital after social
media posts early in the week suggested riots would take place tonight.
In a
joint statement, Jewish leaders in Barnet including Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg
of the New North London Synagogue, said they were proud of the diverse borough
in which they live and work.
They
added: "In the wake of the devastating tragedy in Southport, extreme right
wing individuals and groups are converging to spread hatred and vitriol across
our country.
"Together,
we the undersigned, reject this vile trend and refuse to make enemies of our
neighbours.
"We
are appalled at the aggression directed at minority communities, especially our
Muslim brothers and sisters, and all immigrants, ethnic minorities and asylum
seekers."
They
said they stood in support of the police as they protect communities and keep
them safe.
They
added: "We condemn anti-immigrant hatred, Islamophobia, violence, and
racism of any kind and we stand in solidarity with the victims of hatred.
"We
are proud of the strong, diverse culture that epitomises London and Barnet and
of the tolerance, respect and understanding that unites us.
"There
must be no space in Barnet for violent protests that seek to divide us.
"We
refuse to be enemies. We stand together as a community."
North
Finchley Mosque also put out a statement urging its followers "not to feel
intimidated" and to come to prayer.
Imam
Hamid wrote: "I'm sure you are all
aware of the reported protests in North Finchley this evening.
"I
wish to reassure everyone that the situation is being managed."
He said
he had been in communication with the Barnet neighbourhood superintendent
who confirmed that there would be an
increased police presence in the area.
He
added: "They have advised us to continue our daily activities as usual.
"I
encourage our community members to continue utilising the Masjid and attending
Salah in congregation.
"We
should not feel intimidated to come to the Masjid and worship Allah.
"While
other groups have organised counter-protests we do not encourage participation
in these.
"As
Muslims, our primary objective is to seek the best outcome in confrontational
situations as guided by the Quran."
Source: kilburntimes.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/24504582.london-riots-north-london-jewish-muslim-leaders-reject-hate/
--------
Worcester
stands with its Muslim communities amid UK riots
It comes
after Worcester Mosque issued safety advice to residents amid rising concerns
within its community over the far-right riots happening across the UK.
No
reported incidents have occurred in the city but Worcester Muslim Welfare
Association said this has not stopped residents from being concerned about
their safety.
Worcester
News readers have shared their support for the city's Muslim and ethnic
minority communities and have shared the message that hate is not welcome here.
One
reader, Trudy Gormley, said: "Worcester will stay united and diverse.
"We
will stand together against anything set upon us to divide us.
"Leave
the Muslim community alone."
Lee-Marie
Brough offered any of her Muslim colleagues at Worcestershire Royal Hospital a
lift to work if they felt unsafe.
Worcester
BID's Safer Streets team has also been working with businesses in the city
centre to make sure staff feel safe.
A
spokesperson said: "With everything we have been seeing in the news
recently, there has been a build-up of fear and upset within the community.
"The
city streets are busy with penguin patrollers, and our young people are
beginning to feel concerned.
"They
are starting to understand the world around them and see that it is not as rosy
as hoped. This saddens me.
"My
question to you, the business owners, city employees, visitors, and residents:
Have you considered what you would do?
"How
would you protect yourself, your staff, your business?
"Our
Safer Streets team are visiting businesses this week, asking these exact
questions and supporting by providing recommendations to help make you feel
safer in your place of work, and your city."
West
Mercia Police is also taking steps to reassure communities during national
unrest across the country.
It said
that
Chief
Superintendent Edd Williams said despite there being no violent disorder in
Worcestershire, it understands local communities will be worried.
“The
public can and should be confident that we are working hard to keep our
communities safe.
“We do
not underestimate the fear and worry the violence in other parts of the country
has caused and know these groups do not speak for our communities.
“We are
proud of the strong community cohesion and will stand together with our
communities against those who look to disrupt this.”
Source: worcesternews.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.worcesternews.co.uk/news/24503090.worcester-stands-muslim-communities-amid-uk-riots/
--------
PSNI
officers will ‘stand in harm’s way’ to protect Muslim community, says chief
constable
August
08, 2024
PSNI
chief Jon Boutcher has told the Muslim community that police officers will be
“standing in harm’s way” to ensure they are safe amid several race-related
attacks in Belfast.
In a
YouTube video message addressed to Muslims, the PSNI Chief Constable said that
every PSNI officer “is here to look after you, we’re here to protect you”.
He said
the community had been targeted by “thugs and criminals” in recent days who are
from a right-wing ideology “that makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever”.
Mr
Boutcher said a meeting was held between all leaders of mosques across Northern
Ireland in Belfast on Tuesday night.
He said:
“It’s clear to me you are living in fear… and I want to assure you: we will
deal with it.”
Mr
Boutcher said that the community team would be in touch and officers would visit
mosques.
He
added: “I want to assure you we will be policing those events very much with a
focus on the security and the safety of our Muslim communities.
“We will
be standing in harm’s way, which is what my officers have done so far on a
number of evenings, to make sure you’re safe.
“Officers
who have become injured, and I’ve spoken to them, who are doing it because
they’re determined to make sure this cannot continue.
“Because
we stand with you and we support you.”
Police
are investigating race-related hate crimes and disorder across Belfast on
Tuesday, following on from other disorder and violence in the city in the past
week.
Politicians
from across the political spectrum have condemned the violence and hit out at
racism and hatred.
The
Stormont assembly is due to reconvene on Thursday to discuss the issue.
Assistant
Chief Constable Melanie Jones said that the PSNI will “significantly mobilise”
the organisation due to the disorder across Belfast since the weekend.
“Unfortunately
this will mean officers and staff working longer shifts and rest days,” she
said.
“Increasing
our resources and footprint across Northern Ireland in the coming days will
enable us to manage planned events and deal with any sporadic incidents,
including disorder.
“We have
also submitted a request to the National Police Co-ordination Centre for
additional officers from across the United Kingdom to support the policing
operation.
“The
Mutual Aid officers will provide vital resilience and support and will be given
all of the necessary equipment and familiarisation training.
“Any
officers who may come to Northern Ireland would specifically assist with the
ongoing public disorder and protests and not everyday policing.
“We will
continue to keep this under review.”
Source: irishnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.irishnews.com/news/northern-ireland/psni-officers-will-stand-in-harms-way-to-protect-muslim-community-says-chief-constable-LIAWPNSHAJCD5JODCYNGA5DXBE/
--------
UK sees
fresh anti-racism protests after violent riots against Muslims, migrants
Aug 8,
2024
Thousands
of police and anti-racism protesters gathered on streets across Britain on
Wednesday to challenge expected far-right groups that failed to materialise
following more than a week of violent racist attacks targeting Muslims and
migrants.
Britain
has been hit by a series of riots that erupted early last week after three
young girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport, northwest England,
triggering a wave of false messaging online that wrongly identified the
suspected killer as an Islamist migrant.
Posts
online had said far-right, anti-Muslim protesters would target a list of
immigration centres, migrant support centres and specialist law firms on
Wednesday, prompting many businesses to close early and some shops to board up
windows.
The
reports prompted the deployment of thousands of police officers, and crowds of
protesters massed in towns and cities including London, Bristol, Birmingham,
Liverpool and Hastings, holding banners saying "Fight racism",
"Stop the far right" and "Will trade racists for refugees".
The
protesters were made up of a diverse collection of Muslims, anti-racist and
anti-fascist groups, trade unionists, left-wing organisations, and locals appalled
at the riots that had hit the country.
By 9
p.m. (2000 GMT) there were no reports of any serious disorder. Police said
around 50 people in Croydon, south London, had thrown bottles and were trying
to cause disruption.
Waste
collector Stetson Matthew, 64, who joined thousands of demonstrators in
Walthamstow, northeast London, said people had the right to protest but that
the targeting of ethnic minorities had put the country on edge.
"Everybody
has the right to do what they need to do but what they must do is to put their
voices across peacefully, amicably, without any stress or violence," he
said.
One
woman who joined a counter protest in Hastings, southeast England, said she was
relieved to see a large turnout.
"I
felt I absolutely had to be here tonight to take a stand, and it is much easier
for me to come as a white woman then for some of my non-white friends, so I'm
here in solidarity," said 37-year-old Lucy, a flower grower, who declined
to give her last name.
'STOP
THE BOATS'
Riots
erupted last week when groups of a few hundred mostly men clashed with police
and smashed windows of hotels housing asylum-seekers from Africa, Asia and the
Middle East, chanting "get them out" and "stop the boats" -
a reference to those arriving in Britain in small dinghies without permission.
They
have also pelted mosques with rocks, prompting Muslim organisations to issue
community safety advice.
Prime
Minister Keir Starmer, a former chief prosecutor who is facing his first crisis
since winning a July 4 election, has warned rioters they would face lengthy
jail terms as he seeks to stamp out the worst outbreak of violence in Britain
in 13 years.
A
58-year-old man was jailed for three years for violent disorder on Wednesday,
while two others, aged 41 and 29, were sentenced to 20 and 30 months,
respectively.
"This
is the swift action we're taking. If you provoke violent disorder on our
streets or online, you will face the full force of the law," Starmer said.
Migration
to Britain was a major factor in its 2016 vote to leave the European Union and
it was a battleground during last month's election, with Nigel Farage's Reform
Party winning around 4 million votes on calls for tighter border controls.
Britain
saw record net migration levels in 2022, with numbers buoyed by those arriving
from Ukraine and Hong Kong, and through work and student visas.
Net
migration through legal means was some 685,000 in 2023, while 29,000 people
arrived on small boast across the Channel, many having fled war zones. The
far-right chants of "stop the boats" was also a slogan of the
Conservative Party before it was swept out of power after 14 years at the
election.
The
government has put together a so-called "standing army" of 6,000
specialist police officers to respond to any violence.
The
National Police Chiefs' Council said more than 120 people had been charged and
428 arrests made in connection with the disorder.
Source: indiatoday.in
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/uk-anti-muslim-riots-anti-racism-protests-anti-immigration-britain-2578801-2024-08-08
--------
Muslim
activists apologise after pub-goers mistaken for far-right group in attack
Members
of a Muslim community have apologised after an attack which saw pub patrons
mistaken for far-right rioters in Birmingham.
Social
media rumours spread that a far-right group was drinking at The Clumsy Swan
pub, on Stoney Lane in Yardley, on Monday night.
On the
seventh day of disorder on the UK’s streets, huge crowds descended on the area,
with footage showing gangs of men in balaclavas, some shouting ‘Free Palestine’
and holding Palestinian flags, after it was suggested the far-right was
planning to target the area.
Pub-goer
Sean McDonagh, 51, hid under a garden table as he was punched and kicked by a
group of men who had gathered to “protect” the Muslim community from the
far-right. He said he suffered a “lacerated liver” in the attack which ended
when one of the men stood over him.
Speaking
to The Telegraph, Mr McDonagh said he was “not interested” in an apology from
the Muslim community.
Asked if
he was okay, Mr McDonagh replied: “Yeah, I’m good. I just came out of the pub..
and that was it, walked into them. I didn’t even know there was a march going
on. I’ve been back to hospital with a lacerated liver.
“I don’t
know what it was all about you know. They called me a few things. ‘I don’t even
know what’s going on here,’ that’s all I said.”
But the
pub was later visited by a group determined to put things right.
Shaking
hands with patrons at the pub, local activist Naveed Sadiq told assembled
reporters: “The Clumsy Swan is somewhere very close to my heart because I only
live around the corner. And this place has never brought me or my family any
discomfort.
“I can
only rightly say to the management here that we’re very, very sorry.
“That is
not a true reflection of who we are as a community.”
Offering
a hand to a patron stuck in the pub during the attack, he added: “To you my
friend, I know you were in the pub it must have been horrifying. I’d like to
apologise on our behalf. Here is my hand, here is my heart.
“Hopefully
we can put it down as a bad experience.”
The
Clumsy Swan put out a message on Facebook thanking the local mosque for
offering to pay for the damage.
They
said: “We are all safe after yesterday’s trouble from mindless thugs using any
excuse to go out causing trouble in the community.
“We
would like to thank you all for your well-wishes and a big thank you to those
at Sheldon Mosque who have reached out to us with apologies from their
community and offer to pay for damages.
“Hopefully
we will have no more trouble on the streets of Birmingham - we are proud of our
multi-cultural city and let’s keep it that way.”
A Sky
News van was attacked by a man with a knife as the TV crew attempted to leave
the area after being told they were not welcome, reporter Becky Johnson later
said.
Ms
Johnson was interrupted by a protester on a motorbike who swore and made rude
gestures at the camera while she attempted to deliver a live report.
West
Midlands Police said it is investigating after the windows of a car were
smashed and the tyres of another vehicle were damaged.
The
force and the local MP, Jess Phillips, vowed to bring the perpetrators of the
latest violence to justice, as more than 400 arrests have been made so far in
the wake of the Southport stabbings.
But she
was later accused of “making excuses” for the masked gangs after she suggested
the rumours of the far-right gathering had been deliberately spread in a bid to
cause trouble.
Source: independent.co.uk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-riots-birmingham-pub-attack-apology-b2592728.html
--------
Muslim
service to take place on the National Eisteddfod Maes for the first time
07 Aug
2024
A Muslim
service will take place on the National Eisteddfod Maes for the first time ever
later this week.
The Now
in a Minute group, who work to improve access for Muslims in Wales, have been
working
with the Muslim Council of Wales and Cardiff University’s Islamic Centre to
create a
mosque
on the Maes in Ynysangharad Park.
Open
since the start of the Eisteddfod, the mosque is a space where anyone can come
to
pray.
Celebratory
space
Bea
Young said, “The original aim was a place to pray but over the past few months,
it’s developed into a celebratory space, discussing history and traditions and
the fact that there are Muslims in Wales who speak Welsh and that we’re
visible.
“We’ve
been here for hundreds of years and are part of the community.”
She
added that the service will take place from 13:00 on Friday.
“One of
the events I’m looking forward to is the service. We usually go to the mosque
on Fridays to have a service and pray in a congregation and the Imam gives a
sermon.
“This
week the Imam will come to the Maes and for the first time will do the service
almost entirely in Welsh.
“A group
of Muslims from the area will come in to pray, I hope the adhan, the call to
prayer, is very loud on the Maes to show the service is starting. Everyone will
be welcome to come for a chat and chai, which is a type of tea,” she said.
Welcome
Bea, who
is originally from Llan Ffestiniog near Blaenau Ffestiniog, said that they had
received a warm welcome on the Maes.
This
comes in the wake of recent riots and anti-Muslim protests on the streets of
some English towns and cities recently.
“It’s
great to feel that we’re part of the Eisteddfod, and part of the Welsh speaking
community,” she said.
Eisteddfod
Chief Executive, Betsan Moses said that they’re keen to “represent all elements
of the community, and be a fully inclusive Eisteddfod,” and that the festival
plans to continue discussing how the relationship can be further developed.
Source: nation.cymru
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://nation.cymru/news/muslim-service-to-take-place-on-the-national-eisteddfod-maes-for-the-first-time/
--------
UK
riots: ‘I’m a trans Muslim – all marginalised communities must stand against
violence’
As a trans
Muslim, the weight of racism, Islamophobia and transphobia feels especially
heavy. There is increased public hostility – making simple acts such as wearing
traditional attire unsafe – and intensified prejudice, furthering the feeling
of isolation.
Having
been born and raised in West London in the 2000s, I was fortunate to be part of
a huge Muslim community where we would celebrate Eid together, and walk to the
local mosque in our abayas and thobes. But Islamophobia was prevalent,
especially in various media outlets that spread misinformation, demonising
Muslims, refugees and migrants, and there was aggression around the UK. It
still is so prevalent.
I
remember, in 2018, my friends and I were in a state of panic at school because
of a leaflet that targeted our community on one specific day. We were so
terrified that none of us dared leave the house. People I knew, unaware, would
ask if I wanted to go out. I said: “No, it’s too dangerous for us.”
The fear
of being targeted or attacked left us feeling trapped. These moments and the
hate crimes we are seeing right now highlight how quickly safety can become a
privilege rather than a given right.
Additionally,
homophobia and transphobia are on the rise, because of the misinformation and
the spread of harmful stereotypes, where particularly trans people of colour
often bear the brunt of the hostility. The intersection of racism, Islamophobia
and homophobia complicates our lives, creating a web of oppression that forces
many to live in constant vigilance. For me, it feels like navigating a maze
just to exist.
My
childhood was rampant with homophobia and transphobia, influenced by
traditional values and the lasting effects of Section 28, and it made talking
about LGBTQ+ identities taboo, leaving me to deal with internalised homophobia.
These
intersecting identities mean that my existence is often seen as an anomaly or a
threat – the challenges I, and many, face are not simply dealing with one form
of prejudice, but multiple layers of discrimination – and the lack of
understanding of our experiences in the media adds to the feeling of loneliness
and invisibility, as our realities are frequently ignored or misrepresented.
The
combined weight of these oppressions creates a continuous struggle for
acceptance, safety and equality, highlighting the urgent need for more nuanced
and inclusive advocacy.
The
marginalisation we face is systemic, affecting every aspect of our lives, from
healthcare to employment. Whether it’s navigating a workplace where gender
identity or religious beliefs might not be understood or accepted, or seeking
medical care where needs might be overlooked, it is clear that marginalised
groups face a cycle of disadvantages.
To break
this cycle, it is essential to address these systemic issues with support and
inclusivity that recognise the complex realities of intersecting identities.
Despite
the challenges, however, we have also seen strength and resilience in our
communities. We have seen volunteers cleaning up the streets, protestors
defending places of worship and spaces for refugees and migrants, and we have
heard people speaking out against injustice. We have seen marginalised groups
come together to stand for equality.
In the
face of this recent violence, marginalised communities must stand in
solidarity. We must foster empathy across all communities, support one another,
and advocate for policy reforms that protect vulnerable groups. Every one of us
can make a difference.
For me,
creating a safe space, where stories can be heard, is important because it
ensures no one feels alone in their struggle. And I remain hopeful that every
aspect of identity is celebrated rather than feared.
Source: thepinknews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/08/07/trans-people-of-colour-far-right-violence-riots-uk/
--------
Liverpool
Imam who reached out to rioters says 'don't fight fire with fire'
7 August
2024
An Imam
at England's oldest mosque who reached out to rioters is appealing for people
to not "fight fire with fire", ahead of potential riots across the
nation.
Adam
Kelwick, an Imam at Abdullah Quilliam Mosque in Liverpool, crossed the police
line on Friday, 2 August, to speak to people on the other side.
Violence
broke out in Southport, Liverpool and Walton in the wake of a knife attack
which saw three children killed.
Mr
Kelwick said: "I've spoken to young men in the muslim community and one
thing I have been saying is that you have to be careful – this is almost a trap
that has been set up for you.
"Don't
fight fire with fire, don't fight violence with violence because if you do what
they are doing, like smashing up buildings and setting fire to things, they
will be there waiting for you with their cameras ready.
"They
will put you on social media and convince the whole world that you are the
problem and that muslims are the problem.
"That's
what we need to avoid now and we need to de-escalate things and make sure that
we continue to build bridges which we have already established with lots of
people in our society."
Merseyside
Police has put in place a Section 60 Order across Liverpool from 1:38pm on
Wednesday, 7 August, until 4am on Thursday, 8 August.
The
extension has been introduced to prevent incidents of disorder and criminality
in light of potential riots in the city.
Mr
Kelwick continued: "I think everybody needs to be extra vigilant and extra
safe.
"A
lot of people have been reaching out to me and saying 'how are you able to go
over to the other side and speak to these people and build links with them?'
"I
tell them that it is very easy to do because they are just humans like we are,
but that is dependent on security first and foremost.
"Things
have to be calm before you can make that step to reach out."
He
added: "I don't just think it's the muslim community that are feeling
unsafe and concerned, but they especially are. But I think everybody is."
The Imam
spoke to a leader of a youth groups and summer clubs in Liverpool who said that
attendance has fallen close to 20% off the back of the Southport stabbings on
29 July.
"Everybody
is affected right now, everybody is on edge, but there are specific situations
whereby the muslim community is being targeted", he said.
"My
my message is very clear. Look after yourselves, stay safe, make sure you
security is your first priority and after that we can start to carry on and
come together and unite people."
More
than 400 people have been arrested so far for involvement in riots and disorder
following the Southport attack.
Prime
Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he is expecting “substantive sentencing” for
those involved.
Greater
Manchester Police has asked communities to "remain calm and to try to go
about your every-day life".
In a
statement, GMP said: "We understand the uncertainty and worry that people
are feeling about current tension, much of which is being fuelled by the
widespread sharing of misinformation online which is sometimes being created
with the purpose of creating fear and inciting intolerable hate.
"Our
advice to communities is to remain calm and to try to go about your every-day
life.
"GMP
continues to monitor the intelligence to ensure we can respond effectively to
any incidents of disorder.
"And,
if we believe there needs to be specific information about anything emerging we
will tell people and offer advice."
Source: itv.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2024-08-07/imam-who-reached-out-to-rioters-says-dont-fight-fire-with-fire
--------
UK
religious leaders condemn anti-Muslim riots, call for harmony
07
August, 2024
Senior
religious leaders in the UK from across faiths have condemned the far-right
anti-Muslim riots that have embroiled the country over the past week in the
shape of violence and vandalism against police, ethnic minorities and
buildings.
The UK’s
most senior Christian leader the Archbishop of Canterbury joined forces with
Jewish, Muslim and Catholic leaders to condemn the violence and hatred,
describing it as a "stain on our national conscience".
Justin
Welby, the senior bishop and leader of the Church of England, together with
Sayed Razawi the Chief Imam and director-general of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt
Society, the chairman of the Mosques and Imams National Advisory Board Qari
Asim, Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis and Catholic leader Cardinal Vincent
Nichols, wrote to The Times newspaper to express their concerns.
The
religious figures said they have "watched in horror" the riots which
have taken place in cities and towns in England and Northern Ireland since 30
July.
"We
have seen anti-Muslim hatred and the targeting of mosques; asylum seekers and
refugees attacked; violence directed towards the police and private property —
all of which are a stain on our national moral conscience," the letter
published on Wednesday said.
The UK
has been rocked by riots from far-right groups which have targeted mosques,
accommodation centres housing asylum seekers, and homes and businesses owned by
ethnic minorities.
Prime
Minister Keir Starmer described the attacks as "far-right thuggery"
and said he had mobilised an additional police unit to deal with the disorder.
Dozens
more protests are planned for Wednesday night with thousands of police
preparing as protests will allegedly target immigration and refugee centres.
At least
50 police officers have been injured in the violence, which saw a police jeep
set on fire in Belfast and Liverpool and a Holiday Inn hotel housing refugees
attacked and stormed by a mob in the northern town of Rotherham over the weekend.
Footage
broadcast by Sky News showed police in riot gear as bits of wood and brick are
hurled at them.
More
than 400 people have been arrested as hearings take place this week A
government minister said that over 500 prison places had been freed up to
accommodate those arrested in the riots.
Three
men were jailed on Wednesday for taking part in violent disorder in Merseyside,
northwest England. They were respectively charged with attacking a police
officer, arson and racially aggravated attack.
The
violence erupted in the wake of the horrific stabbing attack which killed three
girls in Southport on 29 July. Disinformation spread by right-wing influencers
online suggested that the perpetrator was Muslim and a refugee, which sparked
the Islamophobic attacks. The suspect has been arrested and identified as a
17-year-old British citizen born in Cardiff.
In the
letter to The Times, the faith leaders said that every British citizen has
"a right to be respected and a responsibility to respect others".
"We
pledge to work with government and all sections of society towards a
constructive and compassionate dialogue on immigration and social
cohesion."
The
Chief Rabbi's name next to the two Muslim leaders could raise eyebrows among
some Muslim communities who have previously called for Qari Asim to refrain
from working with Mirvis due to his connection to the pro-Israel organisation
Board of Deputies of British Jews.
Mirvis
previously said that the pro-Palestine demonstrations in the UK in the wake of
the Gaza war were "anti-semitic" and has expressed support for
Israel’s war, which has killed and injured some 130,000 Palestinians – mainly
women and children.
Source: newarab.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.newarab.com/news/uk-religious-leaders-condemn-anti-muslim-riots-mob-violence
---------
Taylor
Swift’s Vienna Concerts Cancelled Over Islamist Attack Plot
August
8, 2024
VIENNA —
The Vienna leg of a tour by American megastar Taylor Swift has been cancelled
after Austria arrested an Islamic State sympathizer in connection with an
attack plot, the organizers said Wednesday.
Authorities
had earlier confirmed the arrest of a 19-year-old sympathizer of the armed
group for allegedly planning an attack in the Vienna region, warning he had a
“focus” on Swift’s three upcoming shows.
“With
confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst
Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for
everyone’s safety,” Barracuda Music said on Instagram.
The
organizers added that all ticket holders would receive refunds. About 65,000
spectators were expected at each show scheduled for Thursday, Friday and
Saturday.
The man,
who had pledged his allegiance to ISIS “in recent weeks,” was detained in Lower
Austria about an hour from the capital early on Wednesday, Austria’s top
security chief Franz Ruf told a press conference.
“We have
established corresponding preparatory acts and also that there is a focus of
the 19-year-old perpetrator on the Taylor Swift concerts in Vienna,” Ruf said.
He said
that chemical substances had been seized at the suspect’s home.
A second
person believed to have been in contact with the suspect was arrested in
Vienna.
According
to the initial investigation, both suspects radicalized themselves on the
internet.
Police
had promised to ramp up security measures, including deploying special units
for the concerts, while having minimized any concrete danger.
‘Shocked,
sad’
In the
official “Swifties” fan group on WhatsApp, panic ensued following the
announcement of the shows’ cancellation with administrators overwhelmed with
thousands of messages.
Marie
Sereinig, 15, who had traveled from the south of the Alps to attend the show
with her aunt, had spent months planning her outfit for the concert.
“I’m
simply shocked and very sad. But I can also understand that Taylor Swift
wouldn’t dare go on stage in these conditions,” she told AFP.
Other
fans also shared their dismay.
“I don’t
really have any words,” said Flora Zoe Koberwein, a 20-year-old student,
adding, “sorry for those who have traveled so far.”
Conservative
Chancellor Karl Nehammer called the cancellation “a bitter disappointment” for
fans in a post on X, adding that the “very serious” threat had been combatted
early to prevent any tragedy.
The
34-year-old pop star was due to bring her record-breaking “Eras” Tour, which
began its European leg in Paris in May, to Vienna on Thursday.
Following
France, the tour stopped in Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the United Kingdom,
Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and Poland, having a
significant impact on the local economies at each stop.
In
Austria, more than 170,000 spectators were expected to attend the shows,
bringing in some 100 million euros, according to estimates by the news agency
APA.
By the
end of the year, “Eras” had already become the first tour to sell more than $1
billion in tickets and it is on track to more than double that by the time it
concludes in Vancouver this December.
Austria
experienced its first deadly jihadist attack in November 2020, when a convicted
ISIS sympathizer went on a shooting rampage in downtown Vienna, killing four
and wounding 23 others before police shot him dead.
Source: timesofisrael.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.timesofisrael.com/taylor-swifts-vienna-concerts-cancelled-over-islamist-attack-plot/
--------
India
CBI
Takes Over Probe into Death of Muslim Man Forced to Sing National Anthemand
‘Vande Mataram’During The 2020 Northeast Delhi Riots
August
07, 2024
CBI move
follows directive of the High Court; Court had pulled up Delhi Police for
failing to identify the accused despite the lapse of four years
The
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has taken over the probe into the death
of a 23-year-old Muslim man, who was beaten up and forced to sing the national
anthem by some policemen during the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. The CBI move
follows a directive by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday (August 6, 2024).
The
incident took place on February 24, 2020. A video clip showing the victim,
Faizan, and four other Muslim men being beaten up by the police with batons and
forced to sing the national anthem and ‘Vande Mataram’ had gone viral then. The
case was initially registered at the Bhajanpura police station on February 28,
2020, and transferred to the Delhi Police Crime Branch on March 4, 2020.
2020
Delhi riots
Analysis:
Centre, Delhi govt. are both responsible for inadequate response to riots in
city
‘A hate
crime’: Delhi HC orders CBI probe into death of Muslim man beaten, forced to
sing national anthem
2020
Delhi riots: Court acquits six of theft, arson charges
Delhi
riots case | Can’t wait endlessly for forensic report, says Delhi High Court
A
mother’s long wait for justice
Hate
crime: court
The High
Court had questioned the Delhi Police for failing to conclusively identify the
policemen who were involved in the case, even after more than four years of
investigation. “It is extremely important to note that this case presents
allegations of gross violation of human rights, in as much as the unlawful
actions of the policemen, who are yet to be identified, were motivated and
driven by religious bigotry and, therefore, would amount to a ‘hate crime’,” it
had observed.
“The
investigation in the present case has evidently been tardy, sketchy, and
conveniently sparing of the persons who are suspected to be involved in
brutally assaulting the petitioner’s son...what is worse is that the suspects
were entrusted to act as custodians of the law, and were in a position of power
and authority, but seemed to have been driven by bigoted mindsets,” said the
High Court.
Two
video clips
In its
judgment given following a hearing on the petition filed by Faizan’s mother
Kismatun, the court took note of two sets of video footage, one showing Faizan
alone being encircled and beaten by policemen; and the second clip of several
young men, including Faizan, lying injured on a road, being surrounded and
assaulted by policemen.
“In the
present case, apart from the fact that the custodians of the law are themselves
accused of having committed its breach, the perpetrators of the offence are
themselves members of the agency that is investigating them. This situation
does not inspire confidence,” the High Court said.
The High
Court pointed out that no probe had been conducted to ascertain what transpired
at the Jyoti Nagar police station after Faizan was brought there from the Guru
Teg Bahadur Hospital. It also asked why the police would keep Faizan at the
police station “for his own safety at a time when the police were overwhelmed
with responsibility because of the ongoing riots”.
It said
the police had taken a “very convenient stand” that all the CCTV cameras
installed at the police station were malfunctioning at that crucial time and,
therefore, no CCTV footage was available from within the police station.
Source: thehindu.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/cbi-takes-over-probe-into-death-of-muslim-man-beaten-and-forced-to-sing-national-anthem/article68497648.ece
--------
‘Draconian,
enemy of Muslims’: Opposition vs BJP over Waqf Amendment Bill | Who said what
in Lok Sabha
8 Aug
2024
The
Opposition party on Thursday protested as the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was
tabled in the Lok Sabha. As the Waqf (Amendment) Bill was tabled by Union
Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Congress MP KC Venugopal, who had
previously submitted a notice to oppose the Bill, accused the government of
infringing on religious freedoms and undermining the federal system, triggering
a strong uproar from the NDA MPs.
Congress
MP KC Venugopal denounced the bill as "draconian" and an “attack on
the Constitution,” adding, “this is a draconian law and a fundamental attack on
the Constitution,” Venugopal said.
He said
people taught the BJP a lesson for its divisive politics but it was continuing
with the same, keeping in mind the upcoming assembly elections in states such
as Haryana and Maharashtra.
Congress
MP KC Venugopal added, “We are Hindus but at the same time, we respect the
faith of other religions. This bill is specialized for the Maharashtra, Haryana
elections. You do not understand that last time the people of India clearly taught
you a lesson. This is an attack on the federal system.”
Opposing
its introduction, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sudip Bandhopadhyay said, “the
bill was divisive, anti-constitutional and anti-federalism”.
‘YOU ARE
AN ENEMY OF MUSLIMS’: ASADUDDIN OWAISI
AIMIM MP
Asaduddin Owaisi said that this bill violates the principles of Articles 14, 15
and 25 of the Constitution.
“This
bill is both discriminatory and arbitrary...By bringing this bill, you (the
Central govt) are doing the work of dividing the nation not uniting it. This
bill is an evidence of the fact that you are an enemy of the Muslims,” Owaisi
said.
DMK MP
Kanimozhi while opposing the Bill's introduction, said that this is against the
Constitution, a religious minority and federalism. “It shuns justice in every
possible way,” Kanimozhi added.
NCP-SCP
MP Supriya Sule in Lok Sabha said, “I request the govt to either withdraw this
Bill completely or send it to a standing committee...Please do not push agendas
without consultations.”
The
amendment Bill proposes significant changes to the Wakf Act of 1995. It
includes provisions to ensure representation for Muslim women and non-Muslims
in Waqf boards.
RSP MP
NK Premachandran in Lok Sabha slammed the Centre and said, “You are totally
disempowering the Waqf Board and the Waqf council...You are dismantling the
system. It is against the principles of the Constitution. I caution the govt
that if this law is put through judicial scrutiny then it will definitely be
struck down.”
Additionally,
the Waqf (Amendment) Bill seeks to rename the act as the Unified Waqf
Management, Empowerment, Efficiency, and Development Act, 1995.
DMK MP
Kanimozhi said that it is a direct violation of Article 30 which deals with
minorities to administer their institutions. “This bill targets a particular
religious group,” she added.
The Wakf
Act, 1995, was established to regulate 'Auqaf' (assets donated and designated
as Waqf) by a 'wakif' (a person who dedicates property for purposes recognized
by Muslim law as religious or charitable).
The law
was last amended in 2013.
Here is
what ruling alliance said..
Union
Minister Pralhad Joshi launched a sharp critique of the opposition parties for
opposing the Bill and further accused them of attempting to mislead certain
segments of the community and undermining the image of India.
"We
are not targeting anyone. They (Opposition) want to only create an atmosphere.
Our minister will explain in detail when he introduces the bill. They want to
misguide some people in the community. They are trying to tarnish the image of
India. We are one of the best democracies in the world..." said Union
Minister Pralhad Joshi.
JD(U) MP
& Union Minister Rajeev Ranjan noted, “ How is it against Muslims?"
“This
law is being made to bring transparency...The opposition is comparing it with
temples, they are diverting from the main issue....KC Venugopal (Congress)
should explain how thousands of Sikhs were killed…which taxi driver killed
Indira Gandhi? Now, they are talking about minorities,” he said.
What is
the Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024?
The Waqf
(Amendment) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Lok Sabha today to amend the Waqf
Act, 1995. The bill aims to "effectively address issues" concerning
the powers of State Waqf Boards, the registration and survey of Waqf properties,
and the removal of encroachments.
The Waqf
(Amendment) Bill, 2024, Waqf Act provides for the renaming of the Waqf Act,
1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development
Act, 1995It seeks to clearly define “waqf” as waqf by any person practising
Islam for at least five years and having ownership of such property and ensure
that the creation of Waqf-alal-aulad does not lead to the denial of inheritance
rights to women, ANI reported.
The bill
also proposes to remove provisions related to "waqf by user," assign
the functions of the Survey Commissioner to the Collector or a designated
officer of at least Deputy Collector rank for surveying Waqf properties, and
ensure a more inclusive composition for the Central Waqf Council and State Waqf
Boards, including representation for Muslim women and non-Muslims.
It
provides for the representation of Shia, Sunni, Bohra, Agakhani and other
backward classes among Muslim communities, streamlining the manner of
registration of waqfs through a central portal and database and providing for a
detailed procedure for mutation as per revenue laws with due notice to all
concerned before recording any property as waqf property.
The bill
further seeks to omit section 40 relating to the powers of the Board to decide
if a property is waqf property, provide for filing of accounts of waqf by
mutawallis to the Board through a central portal for better control over their
activities, reform the Tribunal structure with two members and provide for
appeals against the orders of the Tribunal to the High Court within a specified
period of ninety days.
Source: livemint.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/waqf-amendment-bill-2024-lok-sabha-minorities-opposition-owaisi-jdu-ncp-bjp-monsoon-session-parliament-kc-venugopal-11723104509516.html
--------
"No
Interference In Any Religious Body": Kiren Rijiju Defends Waqf Bill
August
08, 2024
New
Delhi: Opposition parties led by the Congress joined ranks to protest against
the Waqf Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha today. The legislation aims to address
issues related to powers of State Waqf Boards, registration and survey of Waqf
properties and removal of encroachment.
The
legislation proposes to amend 44 sections of the 1995 Waqf Act. The Bill
proposes that the Central Waqf Council and state Waqf Boards must have two
women. It also lays down that money received by the Waqf Board must be used for
the welfare of widows, divorcees, and orphans in the manner suggested by the
government. Another key proposal is that women's inheritances must be
protected. The provision for including non-Muslim members of Waqf bodies is
another contentious point in the proposed law.
During
the discussion of the Bill in Lok Sabha, Congress's KC Venugopal termed the
proposed law "draconian" and said it is an attack on the freedom of
religion and federal system. He also opposed the provision of appointing
non-Muslim members to Waqf board.
Samajwadi
Party, the second-largest Opposition force, has also opposed the Bill.
"This Bill has been introduced as part of well-thought-out politics. When
there is a democratic process for election, why nominate people. No person from
outside the community is part of other religious bodies. What is the point of
including non-Muslims in Waqf bodies?" party chief and MP Akhilesh Yadav
said.
Another
Samajwadi Party MP Mohibbullah said, "This is injustice to Muslims.
"We are going to commit a huge mistake, we will suffer because of this
Bill for centuries. This is interference with religion."
Earlier,
Mr Yadav had alleged that the BJP wants to sell of lands belonging to Waqf
boards in the guise of amendments. "All these amendments of the 'Waqf
Board' are just an excuse; Selling lands like defence, railway and Nazul land
is the target," he said in a post on X. While Trinamool's Sudip
Bandhyopadhyay said the legislation is against federalism, DMK's K Kanimozhi
said it is against the minority community. "Will it be possible for
Christian and Muslim to handle Hindu temples?" she asked.
Defending
the legislation, Union Minister and leader of BJP ally JDU, Rajiv Ranjan Singh,
said the Bill has been brought to make the functioning of Waqf boards
transparent. Countering the Opposition's charge that the Bill is against
minorities, he referred to the 1984 anti-Sik riots in the aftermath of the
assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. "Who killed thousands of
Sikhs?" he asked.
Supriya
Sule of NCP's Sharad Pawar faction said the government did not carry out
detailed consultation before bringing the Bill to the House. "Please send
this to the standing committee for better consultation. The timing is of
concern. What happened suddenly in Waqf board that you have to bring the
Bill," she asked.
ET
Mohammed Basheer of the Indian Union Muslim League and K Radhakrishan of the
CPM opposed the Bill too.
AIMIM MP
Asaduddin Owaisi opposed the legislation, calling it discriminatory and a grave
attack on the basic structure of the Constitution, as it violates judicial
independence. "The Government has sought to severely restrict how Muslims
can manage their Waqf property," he said.
Minority
Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government had to bring amendments
because previous Congress governments could not address issues in the law.
"Because you couldn't do, we had to bring these amendments. We are elected
representatives, support this bill and you will get blessings of crores of
people. Some people have captured Waqf boards and this Bill has been brought to
give justice to ordinary Muslims."
Source: ndtv.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/opposition-protests-waqf-bill-which-proposes-women-non-muslims-on-board-6290710
---------
Waqf
Laws of War-Torn Muslim Nations Like Syria, Iraq Are More Modern Than India's.
Here’s How
AUGUST
08, 2024
The
concept of Waqf may have been introduced in India during the Delhi Sultanate
and flourished during Firoz Shah Tughlaq’s rule, but its all-encompassing
powers came after India’s Independence through various laws passed in
Parliament.
It was
in 2013, just a year before Narendra Modi swept to power, that the UPA
government — through the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 2013 — gave expansive powers to
the Waqf Board.
With the
Modi government all set to bring amendments to the Act to curtail the board’s
powers, very few would know that India’s Waqf laws failed to modernise with the
times compared to Muslim nations like Turkey, Syria, Oman, Iraq or UAE. Sources
suggest the government studied the laws pertaining to Waqf in the Muslim
nations before deciding to go ahead and make the boards in India more
centralised, modern and transparent — a move that made India’s top Muslim
clerics throw their weight behind the government’s idea.
The Waqf
Act, 1995, confers excessive powers with respect to the applicability of the
Act. The Waqf definition has been enlarged and suo moto powers of the land
survey have been given to the Waqf board. Such a scenario does not prevail in
Waqf Acts in other Muslim nations.
TURKEY
Take
Turkey, for instance, where the Waqf system has deep roots in the Ottoman
Empire. In Turkey, the Waqfs played a crucial role in social welfare,
education, and infrastructure. But, soon after the establishment of the Turkish
Republic in 1923, the Ministry of Waqfs was abolished in 1924. Waqf properties
were taken over by the General Directorate of Foundations. This centralisation
aimed to modernise and secularise the administration of Waqfs.
Today,
the General Directorate oversees the management, restoration, and utilisation
of Waqf properties. It also ensures that Waqf revenues are used for
public-welfare projects. Turkey’s Waqf system underwent significant reforms to
align with secular principles, whereas India’s system operates within a framework
that balances religious and legal considerations.
KUWAIT
Even in
Kuwait, where historically Waqfs have played a significant role in supporting
religious, educational, and social services, the administration of Waqf
properties is overseen by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs. The
ministry focuses on the development and maintenance of Waqf properties,
including mosques, schools, and hospitals. In an attempt to make it relevant
even in 2024, it also works on modernising Waqf management through digitisation
and improving transparency and efficiency — a far cry from India’s Waqf system.
LEBANON
Even
Lebanon, which has been engaged in a war with Israel due to the presence of
Hezbollah militants in its southern part, can boast of a more centralised and
modern Waqf system than India.
The
governance of Waqf properties has evolved through various legal reforms,
particularly during the Ottoman period and the French Mandate. As a result, it
now operates under the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. This body is
responsible for managing Waqf properties, ensuring their proper use, and
overseeing the distribution of Waqf revenues for charitable purposes. Like
Kuwait, efforts are being made to modernise Waqf management through
digitisation and improving transparency and efficiency.
SYRIA
Waqf
properties in Syria are overseen by the Ministry of Awqaf which ensures the
proper use of Waqf properties as well as overseeing the distribution of Waqf
revenues for charitable purposes. Syria’s Waqf administration is centralised
under the Ministry of Awqaf, while India’s system is more decentralised, with
state Waqf boards playing a significant role.
IRAQ
In Iraq,
Waqf is managed by the Sunni Endowment Office and the Shiite Endowment Office,
established after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. They have a centralised
administration with separate offices for Sunni and Shiite endowments. Iraq’s
Waqf administration is divided along sectarian lines (Sunni and Shiite),
whereas India’s Waqf Boards manage properties without such a division.
SAUDI
ARABIA
If you
turn to the land of Mecca, the Waqf management has also evolved with time. In
Saudi Arabia, it is managed by the General Authority for Awqaf (GAA),
established by Royal Decree in 2016. The GAA is a public body with financial
and administrative independence but linked directly to the prime minister.
Saudi Arabia focused more on modernising Waqf management and integrating it
into national development, whereas India faces more traditional challenges like
political interference and governance issues.
The
comparisons can go on with Middle Eastern nations like the United Arab Emirates
and Oman or South Asian nations like Singapore and Indonesia. The only attempt
to modernise India’s Waqf system was made in 1984 when the recommendations of
the Waqf Inquiry Committee were turned into the Waqf (Amendment) Act, 1984. It
provided for the reconstitution of Waqf Boards with elaborate additional
powers, the constitution of Waqf Tribunals, the appointment of several
committees and appointments as well as enlarged powers of the Waqf
commissioners among others. However, stiff opposition and political realities
did not let the modernisation become a reality.
Now,
with the backing of top Muslim clerics who have called India’s Waqf system “discriminatory”,
the Narendra Modi government has a chance to do what the then government failed
in 1984.
Source: news18.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.news18.com/india/waqf-laws-of-war-torn-muslim-nations-like-syria-iraq-are-more-modern-than-indias-heres-how-8994041.html
--------
Safe in
India, worried for family: Bangladeshis at Aligarh Muslim University
Aug 8,
2024
Amid the
ongoing turmoil in Bangladesh, several Bangladeshi students at the Aligarh
Muslim University (AMU) have said that they felt safe within India.
Speaking
exclusively to India Today TV, the students also conveyed their concerns about
returning to their homeland amidst the unrest.
"We
are praying that our families remain safe during these troubling times,"
they said.
Payel
Roy, a PhD student at the AMU, said, "My family lives in a rural area, and
I haven’t been able to reach them. This has been a source of great anxiety for
me."
However,
she added that the support from AMU professors and fellow Indian students has
provided her with some solace.
Payel
further thanked India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for supporting the
Bangladeshi people during difficult times.
"It
is disheartening when some criticise the current Indian government, especially
when India has always stood by the Bangladeshi people in times of crisis,"
she said.
Vishal
Sharma, Vice Chairperson of the Hindustani Biradari and a social activist,
accused Pakistan of exploiting the unrest in Bangladesh to settle old scores
from the 1971 war. "Pakistan is a Muslim-majority country itself, yet it
seems to be behind the current unrest in Bangladesh," he said.
Social
activist Aamir Qureshi also lauded the Indian government’s approach, and said,
"By offering refuge to former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina,
India has once again demonstrated its commitment to being a true sanctuary for
those in need."
Source: indiatoday.in
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bangladesh-unrest-bangladeshi-students-at-aligarh-muslim-university-say-they-feel-safe-2578805-2024-08-08
--------
J&K
bureaucrats get an earful from High Court: ‘Ignoring orders, cocky’
Bench
was hearing a contempt petition for non-compliance of its August 2023 order. It
had asked a bunch of bureaucrats to be present
Written
by Arun Sharma
August
8, 2024
Jammu,
Jammu and Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir High Court, J&K bureaucrats, UT administration,
Indian express news, current affairsThe Bench, however, looked up the SLP on
the Supreme Court website and found that the court registry had flagged seven
defects in the petition that had yet to be remedied. This brought on another
round of scathing observations from the court.
Slamming
the UT administration’s “couldn’t care less” attitude when it comes to
compliance of its orders, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has warned that it
would have to resort to “firm measures” to ensure conformity.
In its
order Monday, a Division Bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Javed Iqbal Wani
ordered Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Principal Secretary Finance Santosh D
Vaidya, Secretary General Administration Department Sanjeev Verma and the
Secretary PWD (Roads and Bridges) Bhupinder Kumar to be present at the court
hearing Thursday. This came after two of the four civil servants skipped court
appearance in a contempt petition, angering the bench.
“If
anyone of them does not comply with the direction for personal appearance on
08/08/2024, this court shall resort to coercive measures to secure their
presence,” the court said, saying that a copy of this order should be given to
the Advocate General’s office under signature of the Bench Secretary.
The
excoriating remarks came while the Bench was hearing a contempt petition for
non-compliance of its August 2023 order. In that order, the court had directed
authorities to grant higher pay scales to the chief engineers and other
higher-ranking engineers as soon as possible.
In its
hearing Monday morning, the court had ordered the chief secretary, principal
secretary finance, secretary general administration department and the
Secretary public works department (roads and bridges) to be present for the
hearing via a video link the same afternoon.
While
the secretaries for finance and PWD attended that hearing, the other two
bureaucrats did not — secretary GAD was stated to be on leave, and Advocate
General D.C. Raina told the court that the chief secretary was delayed due to
connectivity problems but would join soon.
A few
minutes into the hearing, however, Law Secretary Achal Sethi appeared through a
video link and informed the court that the chief secretary was attending a
meeting and was therefore indisposed.
This
incensed the Bench. “As of now, this court is unable to ascertain as to who is
lying — whether it is the person who informed the Ld. Advocate General that the
chief secretary is keen to join the proceedings and shall do so in a few
minutes, or whether it was the Law Secretary who was instructed to state
incorrectly on behalf of the Chief Secretary. Both these versions are starkly
disparate and in gross contradiction to each other,’’ it observed.
Matters
took a turn for the worse when their legal representatives told the court that
the state had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court this
June against the high court’s August order. When asked why it took 10 months to
file it, the Principal Secretary Finance said it was approved only this February.
When probed further, the official said he would ascertain the cause for the
delay.
The
Bench, however, looked up the SLP on the Supreme Court website and found that
the court registry had flagged seven defects in the petition that had yet to be
remedied. This brought on another round of scathing observations from the
court.
“…from
the manner the Union Territory Government has conducted itself, it is clear
that there is absolute lack of sincerity of purpose on its part to comply with
the order passed by this court,” it said. “It reflects a sorry state of affairs
that exists in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir with regard to judicial
proceedings and judicial orders.”
The
justice system in the UT has been reduced “to a cruel joke,’’ the Bench said. “This
reflects a shocking scenario where the Executive is ignoring the orders passed
by this Court with utter disdain, cocky that this court shall take no measures
imperilling their liberty for their disobedience,’’ the Bench observed.
To
restore “a semblance of sanity”, the court will not hesitate to take
“precipitate measures”, the Bench said.
“Once an
order is passed, it shall be complied with in letter and spirit, stayed or set
aside by a superior court or a larger bench or, the contemner be prepared to
face the consequences for contempt of court,” it said.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/jk-bureaucrats-get-an-earful-from-high-court-ignoring-orders-cocky-9501483/
--------
BSF
thwarts infiltration bid by Bangladeshi group in West Bengal
August
7, 2024
The
Border Security Force (BSF) on Wednesday said it thwarted a “significant”
infiltration attempt by a large group of Bangladeshis along the International
Border (IB) in West Bengal, amid an ongoing “high alert”, announced due to a
turmoil in the neighbouring country.
Officials
said the personnel of the force stopped about 120-140 Bangladeshi citizens who
were attempting to cross over to the Indian side from multiple locations in the
eastern state.
The
force is on a “high alert” mode since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government
in Dhaka earlier this week.
The
North Bengal Frontier of the force issued a statement to quell “rumours” and
clarify that there was “no widespread movement of the minority population from
Bangladesh towards the Indian border.”
“The
individuals gathered were primarily motivated by fears of local unrest. The
BSF, in coordination with the BGB, and Bangladeshi civil authorities has reassured
these individuals of their safety and encouraged them to return to their
homes,” a spokesperson for the frontier headquartered in Kadamtala, Darjeeling,
said.
The
Bangladeshi nationals were observed gathering near the IB around noon in two
sectors, the statement said. These gatherings were prompted by fears of attacks
by protestors in Bangladesh, it said.
According
to the statement, BSF personnel demonstrated “exceptional vigilance” and
proactive measures and swiftly responded to these situations,” ensuring the
security of the border and the safety of the gathered Bangladeshi nationals.
In one
sector, it said, the BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh, as well as local
civil authorities, sent back 35 Bangladeshi civilians to their homes.
“BSF has
deployed additional forces to manage the situation effectively,” the statement
said said.
In
another sector, a group of Bangladeshi villagers approached the IB, causing a
brief commotion, but the BSF personnel “promptly engaged” with the group, and
the situation was peacefully resolved without any “adverse” incidents.
The
villagers returned to their homes, and BSF remains on high alert, the
spokesperson said.
In an
another incident, the North Bengal Frontier said, a “significant infiltration
attempt was thwarted when a large Bangladeshi crowd was observed near the
border.”
It
added, “BSF personnel quickly mobilised and, with the cooperation of BGB,
dispersed the crowd, preventing any violation of the International border.”
The
North Bengal frontier of the BSF guards 932.39 km section of the total
4,096-km-long India-Bangladesh international border covering the districts of
Uttar Dinajpur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, and Cooch Behar in West Bengal.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
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--------
Bangladesh
crisis lesson for India; dictatorships don’t last long: Mufti
August
7, 2024
People’s
Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti on Wednesday said the situation in
Bangladesh was a lesson for India that the youth should not be pushed to the
wall and dictatorships do not last long.
Bangladesh
has plunged into uncertainty after weeks of violent street protests over job
quota forced Sheikh Hasina to quit as prime minister and flee.
Thousands
of protesters looted and vandalised Hasina’s official residence in Dhaka and
set offices of her party on fire as they celebrated her departure.
Talking
to reporters here, Mufti said, the country should learn a lesson from the
situation in Bangladesh.
When you
push the youth to the wall, disappoint them by failing to tackle rising
inflation and unemployment, and make them feel helpless even after getting an
education, a Bangladesh-like situation can arise, Mufti said.
“We
should learn a lesson that a dictatorship does not last long and the people can
lose their patience when they are fed up with policies or laws that are against
them. Then you have to flee like Sheikh Hasina,” she said.
The
former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir said the
situation in Bangladesh was akin to Jammu and Kashmir where the youth “face
several issues”.
“The
youth today feels helpless like in Bangladesh, and on top of that, they face
oppression and force, the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), and the
PSA (Public Safety Act). So, we should learn a lesson from it (the Bangladesh
crisis) and address the issues of the youth,” she said.
“God
forbid, such a situation should not arise here,” the PDP president said, adding
the Bangladesh crisis was a reminder that even the weaker people can fight for
their rights when pushed to the wall.
Source: indianexpress.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/bangladesh-crisis-lesson-india-dictatorships-dont-last-long-mufti-9501387/
--------
At
Tripura’s Indo-Bangla check post, Indians recount moments of panic,
Bangladeshis say vandalism brought shame to their country
On
Monday, Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of Bangladesh Prime Minister and
fled to India. Moments after the resignation, widespread violence broke out in
the country.
Written
by Debraj Deb
August
7, 2024
Indo-Bangla
check post, Tripura, Indians recount horror, Bangladeshis shame vandalism,
Sheikh Hasina resignation,BSF personnel checking Indian and Bangladeshi
citizens on their way across the borders as tight vigil has been put in place
amidst tensions in Bangladesh.
“Situation
is not good there. Violence is on. We had gone as tourists but just a day after
we reached, large-scale violence broke out,” said Bipul Deb, a businessman from
the Lake Chowmuhani area of Agartala city on Wednesday. Deb had gone to
Bangladesh’s Madhabpur in Habibganj before the violence had started and when
the turmoil broke out, he, like many others, panicked.
On
Monday, Sheikh Hasina resigned from the post of Bangladesh Prime Minister and
fled to India. The move came after her administration failed to contain the rising
agitation led by Bangladesh students against the quota guarantee for
Muktijoddhas (freedom fighters who fought in the Bangladesh Liberation War).
Moments after the resignation, widespread violence broke out in the country.
Indo-Bangla
check post, Tripura, Indians recount horror, Bangladeshis shame vandalism,
Sheikh Hasina resignation, Bipul Deb, a
businessman from the Lake Chowmuhani area of Agartala city.
Speaking
to indianexpress.com on the Indian side of the Akhaura Integrated Check Post
(ICP) in the outskirts of Tripura’s capital city Agartala on Wednesday, Deb
said, “It was full of panic. We saw they (the protestors) were very angry at
the police and gheraoed the police headquarters, vandalised police stations and
houses of political leaders. Our relatives didn’t allow us to step outside
their home.”
‘Not
just Hindus…’
Deb
added, “It wasn’t just Hindus; a lot of Muslims were equally panicked in the
area.” However, Deb feels that the agitation was more than just an uprising of
the students. “There might have been more to what met the eyes. (Otherwise) why
would statues be vandalised and desecrated?”
Indo-Bangla
check post, Tripura, Indians recount horror, Bangladeshis shame vandalism,
Sheikh Hasina resignation, Pijush Kumar
Deb, another Agartala-based businessman who accompanied Bipul, spoke in a
similar tone and said most of his foreign tour was spent in panic and anxiety.
Pijush
Kumar Deb, another Agartala-based businessman who accompanied Bipul, spoke in a
similar tone and said most of his foreign tour was spent in panic and anxiety.
“We got to know that the border check posts were closed. We were very scared at
the time since police stations and houses of political leaders were being
vandalised,” he said.
On their
way back home, Bipul and Pijush hired an auto-rickshaw and reached the ICP
through local roads in order to avoid trouble.
Still
shaken from what happened
Indo-Bangla
check post, Tripura, Indians recount horror, Bangladeshis shame vandalism,
Sheikh Hasina resignation, Taslima
Akhter, a resident of the Border Golchakkar area of Agartala city was returning
from a short trip to her relative’s place in the Brahmanbaria district of
Bangladesh.
Taslima
Akhter, a resident of the Border Golchakkar area of Agartala city was returning
from a short trip to her relative’s place in the Brahmanbaria district of
Bangladesh. Still uncomfortable to speak about it, Akhter said she did see
violence but refused to speak about the exact scenes she saw unfolding before
her eyes.
Just
like the Bipul, Pijush, and Akhter, a handful of Bangladeshi citizens, who had
come to India for various reasons, were seen heading towards their homes in the
neighbouring country.
Many of
them said while they support the student movement, incidents of desecration of
photos and statues of ‘Bangabandhu’ Sheikh Majubur Rahman and Rabindranath
Tagore were “shameful” and belittled the nation’s respect internationally.
‘Do not
support loot at Ganabhaban’
Indo-Bangla
check post, Tripura, Indians recount horror, Bangladeshis shame vandalism,
Sheikh Hasina resignation, Abdul
Motaleb, 47, a Bangladeshi citizen from the Brahmanbaria district, who had been
in Tripura since Monday, said he agreed with the students over their demand but
doesn’t support the acts of violence.
Abdul
Motaleb, 47, a Bangladeshi citizen from the Brahmanbaria district, who had been
in Tripura since Monday, said he agreed with the students over their demand but
doesn’t support the acts of violence, including the loot at the Ganabhaban,
which is the official residence of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
“Good
politicians are needed to run the country properly. Students did what they
thought was right. We agree with them. However, these activities (vandalising
statues, desecrating images, and looting) are hurting the nation’s sentiments.
These should not have been done,” Motaleb said.
Abhi
Banik of Narsingdi district in Bangladesh runs a small grocery shop. He had
come to Tripura to attend a relative’s wedding a week back. He too supports the
students’ cause but doesn’t support the violence that broke out.
Indo-Bangla
check post, Tripura, Indians recount horror, Bangladeshis shame vandalism,
Sheikh Hasina resignation, Abhi Banik of
Narsingdi district in Bangladesh runs a small grocery shop.
‘There
was no political freedom under Sheikh Hasina but…’
“Neither
me nor anyone from my family was a part of the movement. But it is true that
there was no political freedom under Sheikh Hasina. Her government kept coming
back to power simply without any genuine election,” Banik said.
He
added, “Only those who lost their children or brethren in this student movement
can feel the loss. Nobody had gone to fight; students had gone to demand their
rights.”
Banik
further said some people may have played a role from the background and
unleashed violence against the authorities to escalate the movement. “But small
children were killed in police brutality, good students were killed. The Hasina
government’s undemocratic nature led to this. People were already angry with
her due to the way the last three elections were conducted. The quota issue
gave an opportunity (to the agitators). But I feel the BNP (Bangladesh
Nationalist Party) and Jamaat (banned outfit Jamaat-e-Islami) took advantage of
the student movement,” he said.
Banik
also said that during the course of the student agitation, some protestors
freed inmates from jails and in the process, many people involved in big crimes
escaped.
Indo-Bangla
check post, Tripura, Indians recount horror, Bangladeshis shame vandalism,
Sheikh Hasina resignation, Md Litan
Chisti of the Kurbanpur village of Bangladesh’s Comilla district said elected
Hindu public representatives have led their local union (similar to panchayats
in India) bodies for several terms and said there is absolute peace in his
area.
‘Incidents
of vandalism shameful’
Like
Motaleb, Banik too feels that the incidents of desecration of Rahman’s statues
are “objectionable and shameful”.
Even
amid much tension, there is some good news too. Md Litan Chisti of the
Kurbanpur village of Bangladesh’s Comilla district said elected Hindu public
representatives have led their local union (similar to panchayats in India)
bodies for several terms and said there is absolute peace in his area.
“The
student movement might have brought in some problems along with it but we, the
local people of Kurbanpur, are united. Hindus and Muslims shall always stand
together in times of need,” Chisti said.
Chisti
also said he feels that both the sides — the Hasina administration and the
student agitators — had problems in their statements due to which the movement
escalated. “May be this was their fate. Violence was on the rise anyway. She
(Hasina) should not have called the citizens razakars and the desecrations and
violence should not have happened. All of this is also a loss for our people.
The loss of a single vehicle is a loss for us as a nation. Riot is not good,”
he said.
“We want
something good to be done for us. We want the new government to ensure freedom,
peace, voting rights, development, education, jobs. We want things to go well,”
said Chisti, a demand echoed by Banik too.
Source: indianexpress.com
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https://indianexpress.com/article/india/tripura-indo-bangla-check-post-indians-bangladeshis-vandalism-9501258/
--------
South Asia
Afghanistan’s
population census estimates 35.7 million amid controversy
August
8, 2024
The
Statistics and Information Authority of the Taliban has recently estimated
Afghanistan’s population to be 35.7 million in the current solar year 1403.
The
authority released the results of its census on Wednesday, August 7, showing
that out of the total 35.7 million population of Afghanistan, 18.2 million are
men and 17.5 million are women.
Previously,
the Taliban’s Statistics and Information Authority had estimated Afghanistan’s
population at 34.9 million for the year last solar year 1402.
The
Taliban administration has not explained its census methodology, and it is
unclear how this estimated figure of the total population of Afghanistan was
derived.
This
comes in contrast to surveys conducted by international organizations, which
estimate Afghanistan’s population to be over 40 million.
The
population census in Afghanistan has long been a subject of controversy and
dispute. Different methods and tools used by various administrations have
resulted in significantly varying estimates. The discrepancies in population
figures have raised questions about the accuracy and reliability of the data
provided by the authorities.
International
organizations and independent experts have often criticized the lack of
transparency and the potential political motivations behind the census figures.
Accurate
population data is crucial for resource allocation, policy-making, and
humanitarian efforts, making the need for a credible and transparent census
process even more critical in the context of Afghanistan’s ongoing challenges.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/afghanistans-population-census-estimates-35-7-million-amid-controversy/
--------
Antony
Blinken urged to halt US aid to Afghanistan
August
8, 2024
Fox News
reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been urged to halt U.S.
aid to Afghanistan.
According
to the media outlet, this request comes after the revelation that nearly $300
million in U.S. aid might have ended up in the hands of the Taliban.
Previously,
the Office of the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction
(SIGAR) reported that two offices within the State Department failed to account
for $293 million in U.S. aid to Afghanistan.
Two days
ago, U.S. Senator Mike Braun, in a letter to Blinken, described this report as
“profoundly alarming” and urged him to suspend U.S. aid to Afghanistan until
the issue is resolved.
Senator
Braun added that the State Department’s failure to adhere to anti-terrorism
inspection standards has “strengthened the Taliban and other terrorist groups.”
He also
emphasized that when funds intended for humanitarian and development purposes
end up supporting terrorism and perpetuating violence and instability, it
undermines U.S. national security.
The
Republican senator requested in his letter that the Secretary of State implement
corrective measures to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
This
call to halt U.S. aid to Afghanistan comes as SIGAR noted in another report
that the U.S. has provided approximately $21 billion in aid to Afghanistan over
the past three years.
SIGAR
stated that these funds have been spent on humanitarian, development, and
infrastructure projects, the relocation and resettlement of refugees from
Afghanistan to the U.S., and the repayment of Afghan currency reserves.
The
ongoing concerns about U.S. aid to Afghanistan highlight significant issues in
accountability and oversight, particularly with the risk of funds being misused
or diverted to support terrorism.
The
calls for halting aid underscore the necessity for stringent measures to ensure
that humanitarian and development assistance achieves its intended goals
without compromising security or stability.
Implementing
robust oversight mechanisms will be crucial in safeguarding both U.S. interests
and the intended beneficiaries in Afghanistan.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.khaama.com/antony-blinken-urged-to-halt-us-aid-to-afghanistan/
---------
4%
increase in Pakistan’s exports to Afghanistan
August
7, 2024
The
Central Bank of Pakistan has reported a 4.12% increase in the country’s exports
to Afghanistan, emphasizing that in the current fiscal year, this figure has
risen from $522 million to $544 million.
Pakistani
media reported on Tuesday, August 6, that the country’s imports from Afghanistan
have decreased by 21.95%, dropping from $15 million to over $11 million.
According
to reports, Pakistan’s exports in June amounted to more than $46 million, while
the figure was $43.657 million last year.
The
Central Bank of Pakistan emphasized that Pakistan’s exports in June this year
increased by 5.53% compared to the same period last year.
The
Central Bank of Pakistan also reported an 11.53% increase in Pakistan’s exports
to other countries, adding that the figures have exceeded $31 billion.
Previously,
Pakistani media had also reported an increase in the export of Pakistani goods
to Afghanistan.
The
imbalance between exports and imports is not a good sign for the sustainable
economic development of Afghanistan. Efforts must be made to balance these huge
differences between exports and imports to bring actual economic development to
the country.
The
overall growth in exports to other countries further emphasizes Pakistan’s
expanding trade capabilities. Continued progress in trade relations can contribute
to economic growth and prosperity in the region, fostering a more stable and
interconnected future.
Source: khaama.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://www.khaama.com/4-increase-in-pakistans-exports-to-afghanistan/
---------
US
spends $21 billion on Afghanistan after troop withdrawal
August
7, 2024
The
Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) in the United
States has announced in its latest report that the total amount of money the
U.S. has spent in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of its troops is 21
billion dollars.
SIGAR’s
report, released on Tuesday, August 6, indicates that the United States has
spent a total of 20.71 billion dollars in various sectors in Afghanistan over
the past three years, from August 2021 to July 2024.
This
report comes on the eve of the third anniversary of the Taliban rule over
Afghanistan and the “catastrophic” withdrawal of U.S.-led foreign forces from
Afghanistan.
According
to the report, the U.S. spent 21 billion dollars over the past three years on
“refugee transfer and resettlement,” “reimbursement of currency reserves,” and
“humanitarian aid.”
From
this total amount, 2.97 billion dollars were allocated for “humanitarian aid,”
3.5 billion dollars for “reimbursement of Afghanistan’s currency reserves,” 8.7
billion dollars for “resettlement and relocation of Afghan refugees,” 5.36
billion dollars for “civil aid and disaster response,” and the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security spent 284 million dollars to assist Afghans.
Details
regarding how this money was spent, and the actions taken both inside and
outside Afghanistan with these funds have not been provided.
The
financial allocations made by the United States since the Taliban took power in
Afghanistan are controversial. However, without transparency in how these funds
are being utilized, it’s challenging to assess the effectiveness of the
assistance provided.
Source: khaama.com
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https://www.khaama.com/us-spends-21-billion-on-afghanistan-after-troop-withdrawal/
--------
IEA
responsible for providing services for people, Hanafi
August
8, 2024
KABUL:
The Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Mawlavi Abdul Salam Hanafi
has said that the Islamic Emirate has the responsibility to provide the people
with sure security and better services. The Deputy Prime Minister made the
remarks in a meeting with Mullah Shuaib Resalat, the Governor of Samangan, Arg
said in a statement Wednesday. Hanafi asked the relevant officials to do their
best to address the needs and challenges of the people. Mullah Resalat shared
their report about the social, economic, and local governance situation with
the Deputy Prime Minister and said that local officials are always trying to
provide services to the people and ensure their se curity and will not spare
any efforts in this regard. Referring to the damages of recent floods, Resalat
asked the officials of the Islamic Emirate to address the people’s problems
relating to drinking and irrigation water shortage and reconstruct the
transportation roads of the districts, and implement development projects in
the province. The Kabul Times
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/iea-responsible-for-providing-services-for-people-hanafi/
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AAA
starts first-ever flight to Jeddah
August
8, 2024
HERAT:
The Ariana Afghan Airlines (AAA), in an official ceremony, on Wednesday,
started its first-ever flight from Herat’s International Khwaja Abdullah Ansari
Airport to Jeddah city of Saudi Arabia, the provincial Information and Culture
Department said in a statement. The ceremony was attended by the Deputy
Minister of Information and Culture for Publications Affairs and Deputy
Governor of Herat, Mawlavi Hayatullah Muhajer Farahi and some local officials,
the statement said. Addressing the ceremony, Farahi emphasized the commitment
of the Islamic Emirate’s officials toward the facilitation of services for
citizens and highlighted the ongoing efforts to activate air corridors to
enable the export of domestic products to the international markets. The
inaugural flight carried 127 pilgrims to the holy city of Mecca for Umrah. The
Kabul Times
Source: thekabultimes.com
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https://thekabultimes.com/aaa-starts-first-ever-flight-to-jeddah/
--------
IOM
report on Afghan immigration untrue
August
8, 2024
The
Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation has rejected the latest report by the
International
Organization
of Migration (IOM), about growing Afghan immigration to other countries and
said
that
since the Islamic Emirate power takeover, 3.7 million people have returned to the
country.
With the
Islamic Emirate takeover and the improvement overall security situation across
Afghanistan, Afghans living in neighboring countries as well as in European and
Western countries are in favor of returning to their homeland. We have seen that
hundreds of thousands of Afghans have returned to their home country for the
past three years. This comes as the International Organization of Migration in
its recent report has said that eight million Afghans have migrated to other
countries of the world since 2020. According to the organization, one million
of these migrants have sought refuge in European countries, while eighty-five
percent have gone to neighboring countries. The Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation has rejected the latest report by the International Organization
of Migration (IOM), about growing Afghan immigration to other countries and
said that since the Islamic Emirate power takeover, 3.7 million people have
returned to the country. In response to the report of the International
Organization for Migration, the Afghanistan Ministry of Refugees and
Repatriation says with the Islamic Emirate takeover, the rate of return of
refugees to Afghanistan has been higher than the rate of citizens migrating to
other countries. The ministry by rejecting the IOM’s report says in a statement
that since the Russian occupation, which saw high levels of migration, there
has not been migration to that extent. It says currently, the rate of return is
much higher compared to migration. According to recent statistics, the return
of Afghan refugees has been steadily increasing since the beginning of 2024,
with nearly 651,000 Afghan refugees returning from Pakistan between September
15, 2023, and June 30, 2024. The ongoing return of Afghan refugees highlights
the continuing challenges faced by these individuals and the significant
efforts required to support their reintegration. With the Islamic Emirate
takeover, all those Afghans living abroad have been repeatedly asked to return
to their homeland. Most Afghans have said yes and started returning to their
home in the past three years. Nevertheless, there are still people who prefer
to migrate from extreme poverty, or from the consequences of climate change.
The number of those preferring to leave the country is not higher than those
returning on a daily basis. Most people in the world have had the experience of
leaving the place where they grew up. Maybe they will only move as far as the
next village or city. But for some people, they will need to leave their
country entirely – sometimes for a short time, but sometimes forever. Every
day, all over the world, people make one of the most difficult decisions in
their lives: to leave their homes in search of a safer, better life. There are
many reasons why people around the globe seek to rebuild their lives in a
different country. Some people leave home to get a job or an education. Others
are forced to leave their home country. Millions flee from armed conflicts or
other crises or violence. With an estimated 281 million international migrants
worldwide, the number of displaced individuals due to conflict, violence,
disaster, and other reasons has surged to the highest levels in modern-day
records, reaching 117 million, underscoring the urgency of addressing displacement
crises. With such statistics, it is good that more Afghans have now preferred
to return to their home country, which is good news. Afghanistan has now been
secured and has now changed to a stable country in the region. This has been
acknowledged not only by Afghans themselves but the whole world. There are
hopes that all Afghans living abroad return to their home and take part in
rebuilding their country. Romal Saeedy
Source: thekabultimes.com
Please click the following URL to read
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https://thekabultimes.com/iom-report-on-afghan-immigration-untrue/
--------
North America
The
Mutual Fascinations of the Low Countries and Muslim-Majority Lands
CAMBRIDGE,
Massachusetts — An exhibition at the Harvard Art Museums is an excursion from
Europe to parts eastward, destination Istanbul, capital of the Ottoman Empire,
with side trips to the Safavid (Iran) and Mughal (India) domains. Rather than
an immersive experience, Imagine Me and You: Dutch and Flemish Encounters with
the Islamic World, 1450–1750 encourages quiet contemplation of juxtapositions
and adaptations, generalized tropes and nuanced interpretations.
This
odyssey is made visual in the monumental, 16-foot woodcut “Customs and Fashions
of the Turks” (1553) by Pieter Coecke van Aelst, an artist whose one-person
show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2014 caused a minor sensation with
its grand tapestries and small-scale paper art. We follow Coecke from Antwerp
to Istanbul in 1533 in richly detailed scenes, from treacherous mountains to
the Roman, Egyptian, and Muslim monuments of the city where Sultan Süleyman,
called “the Lawgiver” and “the Magnificent,” presides. Traversing Slavonia and
Macedonia (present-day Croatia and northern Greece) to Istanbul, Coecke camps
with soldiers in the mountains, picnics with other travelers, and watches
funeral and wedding processions and circumcision ceremonies.
As
customary for artists who made such a trip, Coecke belonged to a diplomatic
mission to the Ottoman court led by the Habsburg ambassador Cornelis de
Schepper, with the primary purpose of furthering trade. Meetings occurred
between ambassadors and rulers, travelers and merchants, artists and their
subjects. From material and visual records, we can speculate on the volume of
transactions that took place. Luxury goods were bought and sold, among them
textiles and tulip bulbs, both magnificently displayed here. A cushioned pillow
and a prayer carpet are installed to indicate their original function. A carpet
covering a Dutch table indicates its use in Amsterdam.
Visitors
are invited to imagine the diminutive woman lucky enough to wear a sumptuous
silk velvet robe with silver and gold-threaded floral designs. Never before
exhibited, the robe has been expertly restored, and its metallic threads glow.
Less inviting are the bridal shoes of wood, shell, leather, and glass with
precariously high platforms; these kept feet dry on a wet floor in a bath and
made the bride taller, but required two attendants to keep her upright.
Europeans
recorded the visiting dignitaries from abroad, as in Aegidius Sadeler’s
engravings of the Safavid ambassadors to the Prague court, and Ottoman artists’
portrayal of European rulers, usually based on intermediate portraits. The
Turkish naval captain and poet Haydar Reis made watercolor portraits of rulers
and famous men such as Italian physician and historian Paolo Giovio. In
“Francis I, King of France” (1566–74), after a c. 1530 work by painter Jean
Clouet, he translated the black beret and white plume of his source into a trim
hat with floppy feather; he discarded Clouet’s suspiciously smiling eyes, and
mouth for a distant gaze and pursed lips beneath a crooked mustache and
enlarged the neck to a massive size. While retaining the recognizable traits of
his model, Reis transformed the textured volumes of Francis’s clothing into
forceful flat areas of color with delicate trim.
By the
16th century, the tulip, native to central Asia, was treasured by the Ottomans,
who featured it in gardens and decorative patterns. Visiting Europeans brought
bulbs to Vienna and botanist Carolus Clusius famously propagated the plant in
Leiden in the Netherlands. Tulipmania ensued, and watercolors as records for
owners and sellers became a specialty; 10 sheets show glorious purple-, red-,
and yellow-streaked blooms. The Dutch cultivars were prized as diplomatic
gifts: In 1612, for instance, “200 bulbs of the best tulips” were among the
gifts from the first ambassador of the Dutch Republic, Cornelis Haga, to Sultan
Ahmed I, according to the press materials. The trim, tight-pointed petals of
Ottoman renditions bear little resemblance to the feathery hybridized Dutch
tulips, but they were equally appreciated.
For the
Europeans, the turban signified the Easterner, North African, pagan, and simply
foreign. Accordingly, representations of the Adoration of the Magi, the
Crucifixion, and other biblical scenes gave turbans to those from the Holy Land
and afar. In ancient histories, opponents of the Romans wore turbans, as did
Hannibal’s army. As seen in Jacob Matham’s c. 1595 copy in this exhibition,
Tintoretto gave turbans to the non-Christian onlookers in Provence, France, who
witness St. Mark’s rescue of the tortured Christian slave by his master.
Accuracy was not a factor in their evocations of distance in time and place.
One
caveat of this exhibition is that Dutch and Flemish artists outnumber their
Islamic counterparts. But Imagine Me and You subtly points out kinships, mutual
curiosities, and distinctions in the encounters between these two regions.
Source: hyperallergic.com
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https://hyperallergic.com/939338/the-mutual-fascinations-of-the-low-countries-and-muslim-majority-lands-harvard-art-museums/
--------
CAIR-MN
Calls for Resignation of Lino Lakes City Council Member Who Said Hate-Filled,
Anti-Muslim Email is ‘Best I have Ever Received’
August
7, 2024
The
Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), a
chapter of the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization,
today called for the resignation of Lino Lakes City Council Member Christopher
Lyden for writing that a hate-filled, anti-Muslim email was the “best [he] ever
received.”
[NOTE:
CAIR-MN recently condemned a vote by the Lino Lakes City Council to halt
progress on the Madina Lakes project designed to provide much-needed facilities
for the community, including a mosque, houses and commercial beneficials to the
Lino Lakes community.]
In
response to an New York Times article on the Madinah Lakes development project,
an individual sent a hate-filled, anti-Muslim email to the reporter, Lyden, and
CAIR National and CAIR-MN staff.
In the
email, the individual said, “Islam hates us,” “Islam’s our declared enemy,”
“don’t believe the lying Muslims,” and referred to the Quran, Islam’s revealed
text, as “hate speech against Jews and Christians.” He also wished Lyden “good
luck halting the Muslim conquest of Minnesota” and asked him to put “the kibosh
on the Muslim development.”
Lyden
responds: “Might be the best email I have ever received! Thank you Sir!”
In a
statement, CAIR-MN Executive Director Jaylani Hussein said:
“Mr.
Lyden gave his enthusiastic approval for a hateful, anti-Muslim screed. How can
someone who endorses such views be expected to represent Muslim citizens of
Lino Lakes? We urge the city council to repudiate Mr. Lyden and his anti-Muslim
bigotry. We call on Mr. Lyden to resign.”
Hussein
noted that he believes Minnesota leads the nation in bias attack on mosques.
Earlier
this year, CAIR’s national office released its 2024 civil rights report, which
revealed the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year
history. Titled “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,” the report
documented 8,061 complaints. Nearly half of all complaints received in 2023
were reported in the final three months of the year.
Source: cair.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.cair.com/press_releases/cair-mn-calls-for-resignation-of-lino-lakes-city-council-member-who-said-hate-filled-anti-muslim-email-is-best-i-have-ever-received/
---------
Washington
protects Israel by sending ship-based jets to West Asia base: US Official
07
August 2024
The
United States tries to protect Israel against Iran’s potential retaliatory
strikes by dispatching several ship-based navy fighter jets to a base in West
Asia, a US official says.
The
Islamic Republic has vowed to avenge the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail
Haniyeh.
Roughly
a dozen F/A-18 fighter jets from the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier
flew to the base, an unnamed US official told the Associated Press on
Wednesday.
The
official also said the move was aimed at safeguarding US troops deployed in the
region against such possible attacks.
“The
F/A-18s and an E-2D Hawkeye surveillance aircraft took off from the carrier in
the Gulf of Oman and arrived at the undisclosed base on Monday,” the official
said.
When
Haniyeh was assassinated at his residence in the early hours of July 31, Iran
declared three days of national mourning, and vowed to launch a massive
retaliatory attack on the occupying entity.
In a
statement, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warned Israel of a harsh
and stinging response in coordination with the forces of the Axis of Resistance.
US
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has already ordered the increased military
presence in the region as officials express worries about escalating regional
tensions in the wake of the assassination.
According
to the official, the navy jets’ land-based deployment is expected to be
temporary, because a squadron of Air Force F-22 fighter jets is heading toward
the same base from their home station in Alaska.
The
dispatched F-22s are expected to arrive in the region in the coming days, the
official added.
On Tuesday,
Secretary General of Lebanon’s Hezbollah resistance movement Sayyed Hassan
Nasrallah said that Western countries’ aid to Israel indicates that the
occupying regime is incapable of defending itself and is fearful of Iran and
the Resistance’s response to recent string of assassinations.
He made
the comments to commemorate top-ranking Hezbollah military commander Fuad
Shukr, who was assassinated in an Israeli airstrike in the suburbs of southern
Beirut last week.
Source: presstv.ir
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/08/07/730901/Palestine-Israel-US-fighter-jets-Iran-Haniyeh-USS-Theodore-Roosevelt
--------
Pakistan
Uzair
Baloch acquitted in Karachi in 15-year-old police encounter case
August
8, 2024
KARACHI:
A sessions court on Wednesday acquitted Uzair Baloch, the chief of the outlawed
Peoples Aman Committee, and his accomplice, Gaffar Mama, in a 15-year-old
police encounter and attempted murder case for lack of evidence.
The additional
district and sessions judge (South), who conducted the trial in the judicial
complex inside the central prison, ruled that the prosecution had failed to
prove charges against Uzair Baloch and Ghaffar Mama.
The
court acquitted them under Section 295-H (i) of the criminal procedure code.
It
directed the jail authority to release Uzair if his custody was not required in
any other cases.
According
to the prosecution, in August 2009, the police received information that Abdul
Rehman, alias Rehman Dakait, and his accomplices were travelling in three cars.
Acting on the tip-off, the police chased the cars and when they attempted to
stop them, the occupants started firing.
In an
ensuing exchange of gunfire, Rehman Dakait, Aurangzeb, Nazeer Baloch and Aqeel
Ahmed Baloch were killed, while their accomplices, including Uzair Baloch, in
one of the three cars managed to escape from the scene, it added.
The
prosecution said that before dying, suspect Aurangzeb told the police that
Uzair and other accomplices were in the car that escaped from the scene.
However,
defence counsel Safdar Hussain argued that Aurangzeb’s post-mortem report said
that he was shot 10 times, including two bullets in the neck, and such an
injured person was not capable of giving a statement on the spot.
The
defence argued that there was a discrepancy between the time recorded in the
police statement and the time of death mentioned in the autopsy report.
A case
was registered at the Steel Town police station under Sections 353 (assault or
criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 324
(attempted murder), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public
functions) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The
alleged gangster is facing trial in dozens of cases pertaining to murder,
attempted murder, kidnapping, extortion and encounters with law enforcers. So
far, he has been acquitted in more than two dozen cases mainly due to lack of
evidence.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850740/uzair-baloch-acquitted-in-karachi-in-15-year-old-police-encounter-case
--------
Imran
‘ready to apologise’ if PTI role in riots proved
August
8, 2024
ISLAMABAD:
Former prime minister Imran Khan on Wednesday offered to apologise for the May
9 riots, provided the involvement of PTI supporters in the violent protests was
proved.
His
remarks came during a media talk at the Adiala Jail following the proceedings
of the £190 million corruption reference against him and Bushra Bibi.
Mr Khan
said if CCTV footage identified that the PTI workers had trespassed and
attacked government installations, he would not only apologise, but also expel
those people from the party, and ensure their prosecution before a court of
law.
Huawei
MateBook 14 - Portable and Powerful
The
ex-PM, however, pointed out that he too was manhandled on May 9, as Rangers had
dragged him from the premises of the Islamabad High Court despite the fact that
he was “the most popular leader in Pakistan” and enjoyed a good repute at the
international level.
Mr Khan
reiterated his stance that those who were behind his arrest owed him an
apology.
Citing
the ISPR chief’s recent presser at which the military spokesman said that the
establishment’s position on the May 9 incident was unchanged, Mr Khan said the
PTI would not forget that day, either.
He said
the PTI is also an aggrieved party of the May 9 mayhem, as its workers and
leaders were tortured and not allowed to participate in the elections.
Mr Khan
recalled that he had demanded a judicial commission to probe the May 9 violence
since there was nothing that would connect the party with the violence.
Responding
to a question about the use of petrol bomb, Mr Khan said these were used
outside the Zaman Park and anyone identified throwing them at the government
building must be taken to task.
Commenting
on the DG ISPR’s remarks that a mafia is running a paid campaign against
Pakistan, Mr Khan said the establishment had narrated the corruption stories of
Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari a few years ago, and yet it imposed them on the
country through rigged elections. He said the army is a national institution
and everyone should defend its sanctity.
He said
Bangladesh’s former PM Sheikh Hasina had appointed an army chief of her choice,
but he refused to open fire on his own people. He claimed that the situation in
Pakistan is even worse since there is more unemployment and higher inflation
than in Bangladesh.
He said
he did not idealise Bangladesh’s founder Sheikh Mujeebur Rehman and only cited
some quotes from the Hamoodur Rehman Commission report while mentioning reasons
behind the fall of Dhaka.
Mr Khan
said PTI never wants chaos and was ready to talk with the establishment for the
betterment of people; however, if someone is not interested in dialogue then he
would not insist. He expressed apprehensions that the incumbent leaders of
ruling parties would flee the country and called for placing them on the exit
control list, adding that his name may also be placed on that list.
Witnesses
withdrawn
The
trial in the £190m case is likely to conclude by next week as NAB withdrew 14
witnesses on Wednesday.
There
were 59 prosecution witnesses in the case. Ten witnesses were already given up
by anti-graft watchdog, while 35 witnesses were produced before the
accountability court and have been cross-examined by the defence counsel.
The last
prosecution witness was the investigation officer of NAB.
The
bureau on Wednesday informed accountability judge Nasir Javed Rana that it
would not produce 14 witnesses after the defence counsel filed an application
for summoning of the remaining witnesses.
The
sudden withdrawal of these witnesses has created a situation in which the court
may end the trial next week, which otherwise would take about a month to
complete.
Meanwhile,
PTI’s legal team filed an application seeking acquittal of Bushra Bibi.
In the
reference, NAB alleges that the cabinet led by then-PM Imran Khan had approved
a confidential deed in 2019 to give 190m pounds — seized by the UK’s National
Crime Agency and returned to Pakistan — back to property tycoon Malik Riaz. The
case alleges that Mr Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi got billions of rupees in
return and land measuring hundreds of kanals from Bahria Town for “legalising”
the money.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850840/imran-ready-to-apologise-if-pti-role-in-riots-proved
--------
ECP
Asked To Restore Its Prestige By Giving 41 NA Seats To PTI
August
8, 2024
ISLAMABAD:
Former Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Wednesday asked the Election
Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to take meaningful actions to get its prestige
restored.
Appearing
before a four-member bench of the ECP, headed by Member from Sindh Nisar Ahmed
Durrani, in contempt of ECP and Chief Election Commissioner against him and PTI
founder Imran Khan, he said respect is drawn by actions and sought the ECP to
notify 41 members of the National Assembly as PTI lawmakers.
Fawad’s lawyer
seeks open trial of Imran in contempt case
At the
outset of the proceedings, Mr Chaudhry yet again tendered an apology to the
electoral watchdog, and was told by the commission to submit a written apology.
Mr
Chaudhry was represented by his brother and lawyer Faisal Chaudhry. On the
other hand, Shoaib Shaheen, counsel for Imran Khan, could not make it as he was
busy at the high court.
Faisal
Chaudhary also requested the commission to review the charge framed against
Imran Khan and hold PTI founder’s open trial. He referred to a judgement
recently pronounced by the Islamabad High Court holding that trial in contempt
in jail does not constitute an open trial and it was in violation of Article
10-A of the Constitution.
When the
bench pointed out that Imran Khan was not a party in the case, Faisal Chaudhary
referred to Articles 4 and 25 of the Constitution and also cited that in Iqbal
Niazi case the principle has been decided by the top court that the benefit of
a judgement in one case will be applicable to the other case as well.
At a
stage, a bench member told Fawad Chaudhry that it was not the job of
politicians to abuse. “You were very emotional at that time. You should tender
an apology.”
Mr
Chaudhry’s lawyer told the court that the IHC order was related to the framing
of charge in jail and suspension of jail trial, asking the commission members
to carefully read the order. He requested that the commission postpone the case
till further action. The ECP adjourned the hearing till Sept 4.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850847
--------
CJP
regrets delay in dispensation of justice to murder convict
August
8, 2024
ISLAMABAD:
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa on Wednesday ordered the
immediate release of a convict jailed for murder some 27 years ago — after the
court was told that both sides had reached a compromise six years ago —
expressing his regret over failure to ensure the prompt dispensation of
justice.
The CJP,
who was heading a five-judge Shariat appellate bench of the Supreme Court,
while dictating the order expressed an apology over the court’s inability to
render justice to the parties in time.
Other
members of the bench were Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, Justice Shahid Bilal
Hassan and ulema Dr Mohammad Khalid Masud and Dr Qibla Ayaz.
Advocate
Ahmed Shuja Butt who represented the convict, earlier told the appellate bench
that Mohammad Akram, a resident of Khanewal, was arrested on murder charges on
April 13, 1997. While the convict was still in jail, both sides reached a
reconciliation in 2018.
In its
order, the Shariat appellate bench mentioned that since proper assistance was
not rendered to the court, it took time in reaching a conclusion, though both
parties had reached a compromise in 2018. As a result, the court ordered
authorities to immediately release the convict.
While
pointing towards the counsel, the CJP apologised that the convict who had to
remain behind bars for six years, despite having reached the compromise with
heirs of the victim.
The CJP
also recalled how there had been decisions, both in favour and against
acquittal based on reconciliation agreements, but hinted that the court may
come up with a guiding principle in this regard in the future.
SC panel
meeting minutes updated
In a
separate development, the Supreme Court has amended its minutes about the Aug 1
meeting in which it was decided that a five-judge bench will hear the case
relating to the tragic murder of journalist Arshad Sharif.
On Aug
5, the Supreme Court had issued minutes of the meeting in which it was
explained that the Arshad Sharif case was not fixed before the five-judge
larger bench as it didn’t require any constitutional interpretation.
The CJP
had outlined the reason on Aug 1, while heading the meeting of the committee
formed under the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act, 2023, to fix
cases.
The
meeting was held after Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, who was heading a
three-judge bench, referred the case back to the committee on the grounds that
a five-judge larger bench had previously heard the case and it should be fixed
before a bench with the same number of judges.
Now, the
fresh minutes explained that Justice Shah and Justice Akhtar had desired that
in order to accurately reflect the discussion that took place in the meeting,
certain modifications be made in the minutes of the 18th meeting of the
committee.
The
fresh minutes stated that both Justice Shah and Justice Akhtar were of the
opinion that the Arshad Sharif case was heard by a five-member bench, which was
constituted by former CJP Umar Ata Bandial through an administrative order of
Dec 6, 2022 prior to the promulgation of the SC (Practice and Procedure) Act,
2023, in eight sittings.
At the
time, the bench comprised former CJP Bandial, then Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan, then
Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali
Mazhar.
Considering
that Justice Mandokhail and Justice Mazhar of the five-judge bench had
extensively heard the case, it would be appropriate that Justice Mandokhail
should head the bench and the three senior most judges after Justice Mazhar be
included in the bench, namely Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Athar Minallah
and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, the fresh minutes said.
Source: dawn.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1850844/cjp-regrets-delay-in-dispensation-of-justice-to-murder-convict
--------
Pakistan,
Iraq Agree On Free Entry Visas, Special Flights ForArbaeen Pilgrims
August
07, 2024
Pakistan
and Iraq on Wednesday decided to grant a waiver of visa fees to Pakistani
pilgrims travelling to religious destinations on the occasion of Arbaeen
besides introducing more measures to ease travel restrictions.
The
landmark decisions were reached during a high-level meeting on Wednesday
between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Iraqi Ambassador Hamid Abbas Lafta
who promised to make the journey smoother and more accessible for thousands of
devotees.
Both
sides agreed that Pakistani pilgrims travelling to Iraq for Arbaeen — the
religious observance that occurs 40 days after the death of Imam Hussain (RA)
on the 10th of Muharram and also known as Chehlum — would no longer need to
surrender their passports upon arrival.
The
meeting decided that the Pakistani pilgrims would be issued visas by the Iraqi
Embassy, bypassing travel agents and the quota for Pakistan pilgrims would be
increased.
It was
also decided that special flights would be operating from Pakistan for
Pakistani pilgrims while a new consulate will be opened in Karachi and both
sides initiate a crackdown on agents charging excessive fees from pilgrims.
The
meeting also decided to sign a visa waiver agreement on diplomatic and official
passports while it was requested for the visa fee waiver for ordinary pilgrims.
The
decisions aimed to provide equal facilities to Pakistani pilgrims, ensuring a
hassle-free experience.
Naqvi
thanked the Iraqi counterparts for their cooperation, while Ambassador Lafta
extended an invitation to visit Iraq.
In a
swift follow-up, Naqvi secured approval from Federal Aviation Minister Khawaja
Asif to allow Iraqi airlines to operate special flights, with Pakistan
International Airlines (PIA) also set to announce its schedule soon.
This
development marks a significant improvement in travel arrangements for
Pakistani pilgrims, promising a more convenient and accessible journey to Iraq.
Prior to
these decisions, both countries mulled over options to make it easier and more
affordable for Pakistani Muslims to travel to Iraq for religious pilgrimages in
a previous meeting between Naqvi, Iraqi envoy and Minister of Overseas
Pakistanis Chaudhry Salik Hussain last month.
The
high-level engagement was focused on introducing free entry visas for Pakistani
pilgrims and increasing the quota.
During
the meeting, Islamabad raised serious concerns about travel agents charging
pilgrims excessive fees and ensured to take action against those breaking the
law.
Additionally,
Pakistan and Iraq are working on a deal that will make it easier for Pakistani
workers to obtain work permits in Iraq.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1217531-pakistan-iraq-agree-on-free-entry-visas-special-flights-for-arbaeen-pilgrims
--------
PTI
challenges bill barring lawmakers from changing party affiliation in SC
August
07, 2024
ISLAMABAD:
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday moved the Supreme Court against
the Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024 which was passed by the National
Assembly and the Senate on Tuesday and aimed at "circumventing" the
apex court's July 12 ruling on the reserved seats issue.
The plea
filed under Article 184(3) of the Constitution by PTI Chairman Gohar Khan via
lawyer Barrister Salman Akram Raja urges the apex court to declare the
Elections (Second Amendment) Bill, 2024 bill "null and void".
Tabled
by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) lawmaker Bilal Azhar Kiyani last month,
the legislation sailed through the NA as well as the Senate amid stern
resistance from the opposition benches.
The move
drew a strong reaction from the PTI, as once it comes into effect following the
president's assent, it would seemingly "reverse" the Imran
Khan-founded party's resurrection in the assemblies as it provisions a
prohibition on independent candidates from changing party affiliations at a
later stage from the one mentioned in their affidavits initially.
Last
month, the SC had declared PTI eligible for reserved seats after which the
Election Commission of Pakistan notified as many as 93 lawmakers from three
provincial legislatures as PTI members.
Meanwhile,
39 lawmakers in the NA, who had shown their affiliation with the PTI in their
nomination papers, have also been declared by the ECP as PTI members.
Speaking
on the NA floor on Tuesday, PTI MNA Ali Muhammad Khan said that the government
is proposing changes to the election law to "attack" the SC.
The PTI
lawmaker had said that the party would challenge the Bill in the top court. The
statement was reiterated by Gohar, who underscored that despite the supremacy
of the parliament, only the apex court has the authority to interpret the law
and the Constitution.
Meanwhile,
voicing opposition against the legislation in the Senate, PTI's Shibli Faraz
said that the Bill was tabled in "bad faith" to prevent
implementation of the verdict given by a majority of the apex court's judges.
Defending
the legislation and presenting the government's point of view, Federal Law
Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the Bill was drafted before the apex
court's verdict and aimed at further interpretation.
"The
authority to make laws rests solely with Parliament and this power would not be
delegated to a group of 17 individuals, as Parliament was determined to
exercise its authority," Tarar said adding, "The Bill was introduced
to provide needed clarification and enhance the electoral process."
Stressing
that amending laws was a parliamentary right, not one to be claimed by any
other institution, the law minister said there was a clear distinction between
interpreting and rewriting the Constitution.
What
does Bill says?
The Act,
which provisions retrospective effect and will apply from the commencement of
the Elections Act 2017, proposes an amendment to Section 66 of the said
legislation.
It says
that if a candidate does not submit a declaration of his affiliation with a
political party to the returning officer (RO) before seeking allotment of the
election symbol, they shall be "deemed to be considered as an independent
candidate and not a candidate of any political party".
Whereas,
the amendment to Section 104 says that if a political party fails to submit its
list for reserved seats within the prescribed time period, it will not be
eligible for reserved seats at any later stage.
Additionally,
it also adds a new provision to the original legislation titled Section 104A
which declares the consent or affidavit of an independent candidate regarding
joining a political party "irrevocable" and prohibits its withdrawal
and substitution.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1217474-pti-challenges-bill-barring-lawmakers-from-changing-party-affiliation-in-sc
--------
Positive
talks held with Jamaat-e-Islami, says minister
August
07, 2024
Information
Minister Attaullah Tarar has said that negotiations with the Jamaat-e-Islami
over their ongoing protest, which has entered its 13th day today, have have
witnessed positive progress with both sides set to hold fourth round of talks.
Refusing
to give any details of the talks citing its confidentiality, the minister has
said that so far negotiations have been good and positive progress has been
made.
Tarar's
remarks come as the Hafiz Naeem ur Rehman-led party has been staging a sit-in
in Rawalpindi for around two weeks, calling on Prime Minister Shehbaz
Sharif-led government to revise tax rates, review agreements with independent
power producers (IPPs), and slash electricity and fuel prices to provide relief
to the inflation-hit masses.
Since
the start of the protest, the government has held three rounds of talks with
the JI delegation led by senior leader Liaquat Baloch — however, no significant
breakthrough has been announced by either side so far.
The
fourth round of talks slated for today comes as JI chief Hafiz Naeem, while
speaking to the protesters on Rawalpindi's Murree Road on Monday, warned of
shutting the country if their demands are not met.
"Are
you ready to barge into the Prime Minister's House?" he said, warning the
government to "take notice," otherwise, the Jamaat will give the call
for a march on the federal capital, the politician had said.
Meanwhile,
the party has also announced initiating the second phase of its protest
movement with the JI emir, on Tuesday night, saying that the sit-in would move
forward from Murree Road, Liaquat Bagh on Thursday, The News reported on
Wednesday.
Last
week, PM Shehbaz, while commenting on the outcry over sky-high electricity
prices, said that the coalition government's agenda to reduce electricity
bills, stressing that it should not be politicised as protests continue in
different parts of the country against the high cost of power.
"We
do not believe in politics for the sake of politics," the prime minister
said during a cabinet meeting in Islamabad on Friday.
It is to
be noted that in the last fiscal year that ended on June 30, the federal
government approved a 26% increase in the cost of electricity. On July 13, the
public, which was already bearing the brunt of rising inflation, suffered
another blow after the Shehbaz administration tacked on another 20% hike.
Source: thenews.com.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1217453-positive-talks-held-with-jamaat-e-islami-says-minister
--------
Interior
Minister assures full cooperation for peace in KP
August
08, 2024
Interior
Minister Mohsin Naqvi has assured all possible cooperation for peace in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa.
Talking
to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi in Islamabad, he said
maintaining law and order in the province is the government's foremost priority.
They
expressed deep concerns over the recent events in Kurram and agreed to
formulate a multilateral joint strategy to deal with such incidents in the
future.
Mohsin
Naqvi said the loss of precious lives over the land dispute in Kurram is
unfortunate. He said some elements gave a wrong colour to the conflict between
the two groups which increased the tension.
The
Interior Minister said every effort is being made to improve law and order
situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Kurram. He said external hands in
sabotaging peace efforts cannot be ignored.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.radio.gov.pk/08-08-2024/interior-minister-assures-full-cooperation-for-peace-in-kp
---------
Pakistani
Amricans express solidarity with Kashmiris
August
08, 2024
The US
based Pakistani community has expressed solidarity with the oppressed people of
Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
On the
occasion of Youm-e-Istehsal, they alluded to the blatant human rights
violations in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. They commended the
sacrifices of Kashmiri people for the right to self-determination.
Source: radio.gov.pk
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.radio.gov.pk/08-08-2024/us-based-pakistani-community-expresses-solidarity-with-oppressed-kashmiris
---------
Mideast
Israel
vows to ‘eliminate’ new Hamas leader as war enters 11th month
August
07, 2024
JERUSALEM:
Israel vowed to “eliminate” new Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, the alleged
mastermind of the October 7 attack, whose appointment further inflamed regional
tensions as the Gaza war entered its 11th month on Wednesday.
The
naming of Sinwar to lead the Palestinian militant group came as Israel braced
for potential Iranian retaliation over the killing of his predecessor Ismael
Haniyeh last week in Tehran.
Speaking
at a military base on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel
was “determined” to defend itself.
“We are
prepared both defensively and offensively,” he told new recruits.
Israeli
Foreign Minister Israel Katz said late Tuesday that Sinwar’s promotion was “yet
another compelling reason to swiftly eliminate him and wipe this vile
organization off the face of the earth.”
Sinwar —
Hamas’s leader in Gaza since 2017 — has not been seen since the October 7
attack, which was the deadliest in Israel’s history.
A senior
Hamas official told AFP that the selection of Sinwar sent a message that the
organization “continues its path of resistance.”
Hamas’s
Lebanese ally Hezbollah congratulated Sinwar and said the appointment affirms
“the enemy... has failed to achieve its objectives” by killing Hamas leaders
and officials.
Analysts
believe Sinwar has been both more reluctant to agree to a Gaza ceasefire and
closer to Tehran than Haniyeh, who lived in Qatar.
“If a
ceasefire deal seemed unlikely upon Haniyeh’s death, it is even less likely
under Sinwar,” according to Rita Katz, executive director of the SITE
Intelligence Group.
“The
group will only lean further into its hard-line militant strategy of recent
years,” she added.
US
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that it was up to Sinwar to
help achieve a ceasefire, saying he “has been and remains the primary decider.”
Civilians
in both Israel and Gaza met Sinwar’s appointment with unease.
Mohammad
Al-Sharif, a displaced Gazan, told AFP: “He is a fighter. How will negotiations
take place?“
In Tel
Aviv, logistics company manger Hanan, who did not want to give his second name,
said Sinwar’s appointment meant Hamas “did not see fit to look for someone less
militant, someone with a less murderous approach.”
Iran-backed
Hezbollah has also pledged to avenge the deaths of Haniyeh and its own military
commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli strike in Beirut hours earlier.
In a
televised address to mark one week since Shukr’s death, Hezbollah leader Hassan
Nasrallah said Tuesday his group would retaliate “alone or in the context of a
unified response from all the axis” of Iran-backed groups in the region.
The
United States, which has sent extra warships and jets to the region, urged both
Iran and Israel to avoid an escalation.
President
Joe Biden had calls with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the Qatari emir, Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on
Tuesday.
“No one
should escalate this conflict. We’ve been engaged in intense diplomacy with
allies and partners, communicating that message directly to Iran. We
communicated that message directly to Israel,” Blinken told reporters.
Iranian
President Masoud Pezeshkian told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in a
telephone call that the West “should immediately stop selling arms and
supporting” Israel if it wants to prevent war, his office said.
The
Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation met on Wednesday to discuss
the situation in the Middle East.
Gambian
Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, whose country currently chairs the bloc, said
the “heinous” killing of Haniyeh risked “leading to a wider conflict that could
involve the entire region.”
Israel
has not commented on Haniyeh’s killing but confirmed it had carried out the
strike on Shukr.
It held
the Hezbollah commander responsible for a rocket attack in the Israeli-annexed
Golan Heights that killed 12 children.
Hezbollah
has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli troops throughout the Gaza
war.
The
group said Tuesday that six of its fighters were killed in Israeli strikes on
south Lebanon and that it had launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” at a
military base in the Golan Heights in retaliation.
Numerous
airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon or limited them to daylight hours.
The
Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the Palestinian group’s
unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, has already drawn in Iran-backed
militants in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
The
Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people, mostly civilians,
according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.
Palestinian
militants seized 251 hostages, 111 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 39
the Israeli military says are dead.
Israel’s
retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 39,677 people,
according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give
details of civilian and militant deaths.
The toll
included two dozen deaths in the past 24 hours, according to ministry figures.
Israel
said that its air force had “struck dozens of terror targets throughout the
Gaza Strip” over the past day.
Source: arabnews.com
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--------
Muslim
bloc meeting holds Israel responsible for assassination of Hamas’ Haniyeh
08.08.2024
JEDDAH,
Saudi Arabia
In an
emergency meeting on Wednesday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
held Israel fully responsible for last week’s assassination of former
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, calling it a “crime of aggression, a
flagrant violation of international law and a serious infringement of the
sovereignty of Iran.”
The
meeting, prompted by accusations from Tehran that Israel assassinated Haniyeh,
who also led Hamas' political bureau, concluded with a strong condemnation of
Israeli actions.
The
final statement, issued from the Saudi city of Jeddah, deplored what it called
“war crimes and genocide” perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank,
including Jerusalem.
The OIC
stressed that the assassination of Haniyeh during his stay in Tehran
constituted a severe breach of international law, the UN Charter, and an attack
on Iran's “territorial integrity and national security.”
It also
urged the UN Security Council to impose an immediate and comprehensive
cease-fire on Israeli aggression and “ensure adequate and sustainable access to
humanitarian aid throughout Gaza Strip.”
Amid
these developments, there are concerns about potential escalation, particularly
in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut and
possible retaliatory action from Iran following Haniyeh's assassination.
The
escalation comes amid Israel’s devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a
Hamas attack last October despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an
immediate cease-fire.
Nearly
40,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over
91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.
Over 10
months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling
blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Source: aa.com.tr
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--------
Rights
groups condemn Iran’s ‘abhorrent’ execution of protester
August
07, 2024
PARIS:
Iran faced condemnation from human rights groups Wednesday over its execution
of a man convicted of killing a Revolutionary Guard in 2022 protests, with
activists saying his confession had been obtained by torture.
Gholamreza
Rasaei, in his mid-thirties, is the 10th man executed by Iran in connection
with the months-long protests that erupted in September 2022 after the death in
custody of Mahsa Amini. The Iranian Kurd had been arrested for an alleged
breach of the country’s strict dress code for women.
Rasaei
was executed in prison in the western city of Kermanshah on Tuesday after being
convicted of killing the Guards colonel, according to the Mizan Online website
of the Iranian judiciary.
Human
rights groups have repeatedly accused Iran, which they say executes more people
annually than any nation other than China, of using the death penalty against
protesters without due legal process in a bid to intimidate their sympathizers.
Rasaei,
a member of the Kurdish ethnic minority and follower of the Yarsan faith, was
executed in secret with neither his family nor his lawyer given prior notice
and his family then forced to bury his body in a remote area far from his home,
Amnesty International said.
“Iranian
authorities have carried out the abhorrent arbitrary execution in secret of a
young man who was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment in detention,
including sexual violence, and then sentenced to death after a sham trial,”
said Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana
Eltahawy.
She said
the execution was another instance of Iran using the death penalty as a “tool
of political repression to instil fear among the population.”
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---------
Pan-Islamic
grouping convenes to discuss Israeli ‘crimes’
07.08.2024
The
Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an extraordinary meeting in the
Saudi city of Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss Israeli “crimes” against the
Palestinian people and “aggressions” against Iran’s sovereignty.
The
meeting was held at the level of the OIC foreign ministers, the pan-Islamic
organization said in a statement.
In his
opening speech, OIC Secretary-General Hussein Ibrahim Taha expressed his
“strong condemnation of the war crimes and daily genocide committed by the
Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the
West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.”
“The
persistence of the Israeli occupation in committing these crimes represents a
flagrant disregard by Israel, the occupying power, for all prohibitions, norms,
international laws, and resolutions,” he added.
He
called last week’s assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh in
Tehran “an attack on Iran's sovereignty and national security” and a “blatant
violation of the principles of international law and the provisions of the UN
Charter.”
Haniyeh
was assassinated on July 31 after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Iran’s
new president. While Hamas and Iran accused Israel of carrying out Haniyeh’s
assassination, Tel Aviv has not confirmed or denied responsibility.
The
escalation comes amid Israel’s devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since a
Hamas attack last October despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an
immediate cease-fire.
More
than 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and
over 91,600 injured, according to local health authorities.
Over 10
months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling
blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
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--------
Islamic
Jihad congratulates Hamas on choosing Sinwar as politburo head
07 Aug
2024
GAZA August
07. 2024 (Saba) - The Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine late on Tuesday
congratulated the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas on choosing leader Sinwar
as head of the movement's political bureau.
The
Jihad Movement said in a statement that the success of the Hamas movement
"in conducting internal consultations and filling the vacancy in the
leadership of the political bureau after the assassination of the martyr Ismail
Haniyah, may God have mercy on him, at this level of speed, and despite all the
war against it, is a strong message to the Zionist enemy that Hamas movement is
still strong and cohesive, and that the enemy has not affected anything from
its structure despite the war of extermination."
The
Islamic Jihad Movement expressed its wishes for success for Sinwar and the
Hamas movement in "moving forward towards achieving the goals of the
Palestinian people in liberation, return, and defeating the occupation."
Source: saba.ye
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--------
Settlers
storm Al-Aqsa Mosque courtyards
07 Aug
2024
OCCUPIED
QUDS August 07. 2024 (Saba) - Zionist settlers on Wednesday stormed again the
courtyards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city of Quds, under
protection of the Zionist enemy police.
Eyewitnesses
reported, according to the Palestinian Wafa Agency, that settlers stormed the
mosque in groups and performed Talmudic prayers.
They
confirmed that the enemy police turned the Old City into a military barracks,
and deployed hundreds of its members at close distances, especially at the
gates of Al-Aqsa Mosque, and tightened its military measures at its gates and
the gates of the Old City, and imposed restrictions on the entry of worshipers.
Source: saba.ye
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--------
Fatalities
in Israeli attack include head of Hezbollah’s anti-tank rocket unit
August
07, 2024
BEIRUT:
Two people were killed — one a civilian and the other, according to the Israeli
army, the head of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s anti-tank rocket unit — and seven
others injured on Wednesday in renewed Israeli hostilities in several towns in
southern Lebanon.
An
Israeli drone targeted a motorcycle in the town of Jouaiyya at noon, and a
passing car was hit, injuring those inside.
The
emergency operations center at the Ministry of Health reported that two people
were killed, Hezbollah member Hassan Fares Jeshi and a civilian named Mohammed
Hassan Shoumar, while four others were injured.
The
Israeli army said: “Hassan Fares is the commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank
rocket unit.”
Israeli
artillery shelling and air raids continued on border towns known for their
loyalty to Hezbollah. These attacks hit the towns of Blida, Tayr Harfa, Khiam,
Jebbayn, Chihine, Majdelyoun, Naqoura, Zibqin, Chaqra, Baraachit, Halta,
Kounine, Mhaibib, and Kfarkela.
The
emergency operations center said that “phosphorus artillery shelling targeted
the town of Shebaa, causing a citizen to suffer from suffocation, requiring
hospitalization.”
Hezbollah
responded by targeting “the Raheb site and the Jal Al-Alam site with artillery
shells, and the Malikiyah site with missile weapons.”
Israeli
warplanes breached the sound barrier for the second successive day over Beirut.
The
National News Agency in Lebanon reported that Israeli aircraft did the same in
two waves over the cities of Sidon and Jezzine, and various parts in the south
of the country, with activists on social media sharing footage of planes
breaching Lebanese airspace.
Inhabitants
of Beirut and dozens of towns in the Mount Lebanon region had experienced
severe panic on Tuesday as Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier at low
altitude, causing a loud boom.
Border
villages adjacent to the Blue Line in the western and central sectors suffered
hours of tension later in the day with the Israeli army firing flares, while
Hezbollah carried out nine operations against Israeli military sites.
Hezbollah’s
Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech on Tuesday that a response
to last week’s assassination of the group’s prominent military leader Fuad
Shukr was “inevitable.”
The
Israelis are also anticipating the response of Hezbollah and Iran to the
assassination of Hamas’ political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran just hours
after Shukr’s death in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Israeli
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said: “The Israeli army is constantly developing
its defensive and offensive capabilities.”
Meanwhile,
leaflets were dropped on Wednesday in predominantly Druze regions, especially
in the Choueifat area, bearing pictures of the children who were victims of the
Majdal Shams attack in the occupied Golan, which killed 12 people. These
carried the words: “We will avenge them, Hezbollah.”
Israel
has accused Hezbollah of shelling the soccer field in Majdal Shams, but
Hezbollah strongly denies responsibility for the attack, while Lebanese Druze
leader Walid Jumblatt has declared his support for the Iran-backed group.
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--------
Over
1,000 UK troops ready to evacuate nearly 16,000 Britons from Lebanon amid fears
of war escalation
August
07, 2024
BEIRUT:
The UK government has kept more than 1,000 British troops on high alert and
ready to evacuate nearly 16,000 Britons currently in Lebanon amid growing fears
of an all-out war, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
In
response to the UK Foreign Office’s warning that the Middle East situation
could deteriorate rapidly, preparations are being made in case British citizens
need to be evacuated from Beirut.
The
Foreign Office renewed its call for Britons to leave Lebanon on Saturday, while
confirming that preparations were underway to help with any necessary
evacuation as hundreds of troops had been sent to Cyprus. The UK already has a
significant military presence there.
Foreign
Secretary David Lammy told the House of Commons last week that there were about
16,000 British nationals in Lebanon.
Meanwhile,
hundreds of troops have been put on alert in the UK and are ready for
deployment to the region if necessary.
According
to Saturday’s Foreign Office statement, military personnel were in the process
of being deployed to provide operational support to UK embassies in the region,
although the number of troops involved was not mentioned.
Meanwhile,
Sky News reported on Wednesday that hundreds of soldiers, Royal Marine
commandos, sailors and aviators had already been moved forward to bolster a key
Royal Air Force base in Cyprus, which would act as a hub in any evacuation
mission.
RAF
Typhoon fighter jets already stationed there were involved last April in a
mission against an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel.
A Royal
Navy destroyer, HMS Duncan, and a landing ship, RFA Cardigan Bay, are already
in the Eastern Mediterranean. RAF helicopters have also been placed on standby.
Tensions
have been growing across the Middle East since the Hamas attack on southern
Israel on Oct. 7.
Hostilities
between Israel and its neighbors have escalated following the death of Hamas’
political chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran last week, in an attack for which Iran
blamed Israel.
Haniyeh’s
assassination came hours after Israel killed Iran-backed Hezbollah’s senior
commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.
Iran and
Hezbollah have vowed “severe” retaliation against Israel.
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---------
Kurdish
fighters kill Turkish soldier in Iraq: ministry
August
07, 2024
ANKARA:
A Turkish soldier was killed by Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq during a
Turkish military operation that’s due to be wound down, Ankara’s defense
ministry said Wednesday.
The
soldier was shot by fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has
been involved in an on-and-off armed insurgency against Turkiye since 1984, the
ministry said.
Regarded
as a terror organization by Turkiye and most of its Western allies, including
the United States and European Union, the PKK has bases in northern Iraq from
where it launches attacks into Turkiye.
Claiming
it needed to secure its border with its southern neighbor, Turkiye rolled out
Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022.
It
involved Ankara attacking the Kurdish group within Iraq itself, where Turkiye
also maintains several dozen military bases.
On July
13, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the operation’s imminent end,
judging Kurdish forces to be “completely trapped” in both Iraq and Syria.
Ankara’s
incursions into Iraq have frequently strained bilateral ties with Baghdad.
Erdogan’s
declaration came after Iraq’s government slammed fresh incursions by the
Turkish army into Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region.
But
there have been signs of a thaw in relations in recent months, with Erdogan in
April making his first visit to Baghdad since 2011.
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--------
Arab World
Swedish
tourist hails locals’ ‘pure kindness’ after motorcycle journey through Saudi
Arabia
August
07, 2024
RIYADH:
A Swedish woman has discovered the ‘pure kindness’ of Saudis after traveling
across the Kingdom solo on a motorcycle.
Kristina
Lindstrom told Arab News: “Saudi Arabia seemed uncharted and undefined to me,
especially with its recent openness to tourism.
“I’m
endlessly curious about different cultures, people and landscapes.”
During
her trip through Saudi Arabia, she has explored Buraidah, Hail, Wadi Al-Disah
in the southwest province of Tabuk, Yanbu, Jeddah, Taif, Baha and Abha.
Before
she crosses into the UAE, Lindstrom plans to visit Riyadh and Al-Hofuf. After
the Emirates, she will travel by boat to Bandar Abbas, a coastal city in
southern Iran, then to Pakistan, India and Nepal.
Lindstrom
rides a 2005 Honda 650 Transalp: “It’s a great bike to travel around the world,
with a very reliable engine, and you can find spare parts anywhere in the
world.”
She has
ridden on two wheels since she was young. “I love the feeling of freedom,” she
said. “The adrenaline rush and the ability to fully engage all my senses while
on the bike are truly exhilarating. Riding allows me to attain mental clarity,
pushing problems and worries far from my thoughts.”
During a
visit to Vietnam in 2016, Lindstrom decided to buy a secondhand bike to travel
around Vietnam and Cambodia. At that moment, the Swedish national realized she
wanted to go on a once-in-a-lifetime adventure away from home. “I worked hard
for five years and saved every penny to be able to do this trip,” she added.
Her big
adventure has included stops in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria,
Turkiye, Iraq and now Saudi Arabia.
Lindstrom
said that the Kingdom’s natural landmarks attracted her to the country. “Saudi
Arabia’s landscape is incredibly diverse. As a motorcycle and camping
enthusiast, the mountains surrounding Baha and Abha are my paradise.”
She also
highlighted the Kingdom’s landscapes, winding roads and campsites, as well as
the captivating beauty of Wadi Al-Disaha and AlUla.
Lindstrom
said that she enjoys interacting with cultures that are different to her own.
“Kindness always touches me deeply. Once, I was lost in the desert, and two
young Saudi men appeared out of nowhere, offering me sweets with warm smiles
before disappearing. It was a simple act, but it touched me deeply.
“I have
also received assistance countless times, and I am very grateful for the warmth
I have received.”
Camel-milking
was another memorable experience for Lindstrom. “My host invited me to their
farm, and it was a pleasure to try to milk a camel. I adore animals, especially
camels with their gentle intelligence.”
Lindstrom
expressed her gratitude for the hospitality of the Saudi people: “My motorcycle
fell in Wadi Al-Kamar (north of Jeddah) during a thunderstorm, and two Saudi
young men immediately stopped to help me without hesitation.”
In
another instance, an unknown benefactor paid for Lindstrom’s meal at a
restaurant, offering her a glimpse into Saudi generosity.
“He
simply paid with his credit card before I could even access my card. What an
indescribable hospitality,” she said.
Lindstrom
told Arab News that Saudi Arabia is one of the safest countries she has ever
traveled to, especially as a solo female visitor. “While relaxing in the wild,
a car passed and its driver stopped, offering me water, biscuits and an
invitation to lunch. It may sound scary to some, but in Saudi Arabia, it’s
quite natural and safe. It’s pure kindness without any restrictions,” she said.
For any
tourist in the Kingdom, experiencing the Red Sea is a must. Lindstrom also went
diving in Yanbu. “The Red Sea was full of colorful corals and all kinds of fish.
Some fish were curious and came a little closer to me, but watching them was
fun.
“I love
exploring the underwater world, and this experience motivated me for more. I
can’t wait to dive again and discover more beauty under the waves.”
Throughout
her stay in Saudi Arabia, Lindstrom said that she did not experience any
negative or uncomfortable reactions from anyone. The Saudis she encountered
always treated her with respect and kindness, which made her feel welcome and
comfortable, she added.
“One of
the really striking things is the deep sense of security when camping alone. I
was almost setting up my tent anywhere without fear; the locals respected my
privacy, and I never felt that I was in danger.”
Source: arabnews.com
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---------
Changes
to Saudi labor law set to increase job stability, protect workers’ rights
August
07, 2024
RIYADH:
Recent amendments to several labor law articles will create a more attractive
work environment for employees and promote sustainable development, the
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development said.
The
changes, which were approved by the Cabinet, aim to improve job stability,
protect employment rights, develop human capital, promote training
opportunities and create jobs, it said.
The
amendments, which align with the goals of Vision 2030, were made after studying
labor laws in other countries and examining global best practices. More than
1,300 people provided feedback on the proposed amendments, while private sector
companies, government bodies, labor committees and human resources specialists
shared their insights through workshops and meetings.
The
revisions, which comprise changes to 38 articles, the removal of seven and the
addition of two new ones, will support the development of regulations to
bolster the market, production and service sectors, provide a suitable
legislative environment and support small and medium-sized enterprises, the
ministry said.
The
amendments consider the interests of all parties involved in employment
contracts and expand sections on leaves and contracts, the ministry said.
New
definitions for “resignation” and “assignment” were added, along with an
article outlining resignation procedures and modifying grievance procedures for
workers. Penalties were introduced for engaging in worker recruitment
activities without a license from the ministry.
Also,
employers must now provide a training and qualification policy to enhance
workers’ skills. Several amendments were also made to the section on maritime
work.
More
information about the changes, which will come into effect 180 days after their
publication in the Official Gazette, is available on the ministry’s website.
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--------
Innovative
Saudi VR projects to be developed following Ithra’s Creative Solutions
Residency
August
07, 2024
DHAHRAN:
The King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture has selected six innovative VR
concepts by emerging Saudi storytellers for prototype development. This follows
the successful completion of the month-long Creative Solutions Residency
Program.
This year’s
program began on June 30 with 29 participants and 12 project proposals.
Creative adviser Rafi Nazim, immersive technology consultant Simon Benson,
Unity 3D expert Keith Myers and representatives from The Bakery guided
participants through workshops and hands-on instruction.
The
Creative Solutions Residency Program focuses on immersive technologies such as
AR, VR, mixed reality, immersive audio and haptics. Participants learned
creative, entrepreneurial, technical and storytelling foundations at Ithra’s
Idea Lab.
Concepts
were developed through storyboarding, scriptwriting and game engine sessions at
Ithra’s Immersive Lab. Participants also trained with haptic feedback vests,
motion capture bands and character design software.
The
residency ended with pitches to a jury of industry experts including
interdisciplinary artist Hanan Makki, journalist Kate Wellham and award-winning
Saudi game developer Rafif Kalantan. Six winning concepts were chosen for
prototype development.
“The
program is more than a valuable training ground; it provides a global stage for
talented Saudi creatives to showcase their brilliance to industry experts and
investors,” said Manar Al-Duwaileh, head of Ithra’s creativity and innovation
unit.
“We are
not just nurturing innovators. We are identifying and supporting future
pioneers who will redefine the boundaries of storytelling using immersive
tech.”
Winning
concepts include Mirage, an interactive VR experience about a young girl
battling depression; A Caravan Adventure, a VR journey exploring traditional
Arab life; SOlVIVAL, an immersive physics-based adventure; Two Equals One,
highlighting cultural connections through gameplay; The Hidden Loom, a VR game
combining storytelling and cultural education; and Reclaiming Dreams, where players
immerse in a young boy’s use of technology.
The six
winning projects will unveil their prototypes in early November at Ithra’s
annual event dedicated to design and creativity, showcasing to international
investors and leading companies.
Source: arabnews.com
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--------
118
colleges added to Saudi Cultural Scholarship Program
August
07, 2024
RIYADH:
The Ministry of Culture has expanded its Cultural Scholarship Program, adding
118 colleges to its list of accredited educational institutions, the Saudi
Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
The move
aims to support national cadres, respond to the growing needs of the labor
market and achieve the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 in relation to culture, the
ministry said.
The
additions take the number of institutions involved in the program to 278 in 15
countries, of which 58 are in the US, 40 in the UK and one in Russia.
Among
the newcomers are the University of San Francisco, Arizona State University,
University of Colorado Boulder, Royal Holloway, University of London, the
University of Liverpool, Padova University in Italy and Lund University in
Sweden.
The
program offers students the chance to obtain scholarships in 13 cultural and
artistic fields. The awards cover the cost of their tuition fees, living
expenses, medical insurance and travel. Their academic development is also
monitored and evaluated.
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--------
Madinah
governor cites King Salman Medical City’s for obtaining accreditation
August
07, 2024
MADINAH:
Madinah Gov. Prince Salman bin Sultan received King Salman Medical City CEO
Abdulrahman Al-Harbi in Madinah, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
Prince
Salman congratulated the staff of the medical institute for obtaining
accreditation from the Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare
Institutions.
He
hailed recent advances in the health sector and encouraged staff to continue
improving integrated health services.
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--------
Saudi
deputy FM meets with Palestine’s representative to UN on sidelines of OIC
meeting
August
07, 2024
RIYADH:
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji met with the Permanent
Representative of Palestine to the United Nations Riyad Mansour on Wednesday.
During
the meeting on the sidelines of an Organization of Islamic Cooperation summit
in Jeddah, the two officials discussed the latest developments in the
Palestinian crisis.
They
also reviewed regional developments, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Khuraiji
also met with Iran’s Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani and Turkish
Deputy Foreign Minister Nuh Yilmaz, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi,
Gambian Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara, and Abu Bakr Mohamed Hanafi.
At the
OIC meeting, Al-Khuraiji condemned the assassination of Hamas political leader
Ismail Haniyeh, saying it was a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty of the
Islamic Republic of Iran, its territorial integrity and national security,
international law and the Charter of the United Nations and constitutes a
threat to regional peace and security.”
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2564556/saudi-arabia
--------
Saudi
engineer teaches Arabic to children, refugees in Europe
August
07, 2024
MAKKAH:
A Saudi engineer is helping Arab children and refugees in the West connect with
their culture and roots through Arabic language lessons.
Mohammed
Al-Taweelie, who has work experience in Germany, said that he observed a lack
of Arabic language content and fluency among the Arab community and refugee
children in the West.
It led
him to launch Daad with personal funding. The initiative provides storytelling
and learning activities for children through their online database. “This
project has produced over 140 high-quality Arabic stories with audio and video
available for free,” he told Arab News.
The
Arabic stories are written in various categories for age groups 6-8 years and
9-12 years.
Dadd has
officially been registered as a voluntary, nonprofit organization in Germany,
he said.
Al-Taweelie
said that the initiative’s purpose was “to enhance Arabic electronic content in
Europe, aiming to enrich Arabic content and address its deficiencies in various
fields of knowledge. The initiative included programs and competitions for
students, resulting in over 50 million visits to scientific articles.”
Saudi
students have done remarkably well abroad, he said. Speaking about activities
he had been involved in, he said: “I founded several student clubs to support
foreign and German students. I gained the trust of students at the Technical
University of Dortmund, where I was elected by the university’s students in
many associations.”
Al-Taweelie
also served as a spokesperson for foreign students and students of the faculty
of electrical engineering and communication at the university, as well as for
the Student Relief and Support Fund at the Technical University of Dortmund.
He was
honored by the Saudi Embassy in Berlin and twice received a distinction award
from the Saudi Cultural Mission in Germany because, beyond his contributions at
university, he also volunteered to work with the city of Dortmund through
volunteer and social responsibility programs, especially refugee support
programs.
Al-Taweelie,
who studied at Al-Jazeera High School in Tabuk, has a bachelor’s degree in
electrical engineering and a master’s degree in electrical and communications
engineering, specializing in robotics and automotive technology. His research
at the Technical University of Dortmund focused on artificial intelligence.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2564541/saudi-arabia
--------
Hamas
leader’s killing risks ‘wider conflict,’ OIC chair warns
August
07, 2024
RIYADH:
The assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh risks tipping the
Middle East into a “wider conflict,” the chair of the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation said on Wednesday.
Speaking
at an extraordinary meeting for the foreign ministers of member states, Gambian
Foreign Minister Mamadou Tangara said the killing served only to “escalate the
existing tensions potentially leading to a wider conflict that could involve
the entire region.”
Haniyeh’s
death “will not quell the Palestinian cause but rather it amplifies it,
underscoring the urgency for justice and human rights for the Palestinian people,”
Tangara, whose country currently chairs the OIC, said.
“The
sovereignty and territorial integrity of nation states are fundamental
principles underpinning the international order. Respecting these principles
has profound implications and their violation equally carries significant
consequences,” he said.
OIC
Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha condemned Haniyeh’s killing and the
“genocide committed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank,” and Jerusalem.
He
called on the UN Security Council to assume its responsibilities and take the
necessary measures to compel Israel to respect the rule of international law
and stop its aggression and attacks that threaten regional and international
peace and security.
Taha
said that the council should demand an immediate and comprehensive cessation of
the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip in order to avoid the risk of
full-scale regional war that would undermine the security and stability of the
entire Middle East.
He
stressed the need for joint efforts to compel Israel to abide by international
legitimacy resolutions and said that the necessary measures should be taken to
implement the recent advisory opinion issued by the International Court of
Justice regarding the illegality of the Israeli occupation.
Taha
condemned the Israeli Knesset’s resolution rejecting Palestinian statehood and
its designation of UNRWA as a terrorist organization. He also called for the
provision of more political and financial support to UNRWA’s budget so that it
can exercise its vital role in providing basic services to Palestinian refugees
and contribute to alleviating the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinian
people in the Gaza Strip.
Taha
called on key players in the international community to sponsor a political process
to end Israeli occupation and achieve peace based on the vision of the
two-state solution in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions.
Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed
Al-Khuraiji attended the meeting on behalf of Foreign Minister Prince Faisal
bin Farhan, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He told
the summit that his government was aware of the danger of the escalating events
in the Palestinian territories due to Israeli attacks and illegal practices
against Palestinians inside and outside them.
He also
condemned Haniyeh’s assassination as a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty
of the Islamic Republic of Iran, its territorial integrity and national
security, international law and the Charter of the United Nations and
constitutes a threat to regional peace and security.”
Al-Khuraiji
said the Kingdom condemned Israeli attacks against civilians and rejected any
attack on the sovereignty of states or interference in the internal affairs of
any state, in accordance with international conventions and the OIC Charter.
He
expressed the Kingdom’s deep concern over the escalation of Israeli violations
which have resulted in large numbers of dead and wounded civilians in the Gaza
Strip and the West Bank, shortages of food, medicine and fuel and the
destruction of the health sector.
He also
renewed the Kingdom’s call for the international community to take effective
action to hold Israeli forces fully responsible for their crimes and
violations.
The
Kingdom supported all efforts aimed at ending the occupation of the Palestinian
territories and reaching a comprehensive solution that enabled people to
establish an independent Palestinian state in accordance with international
legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, Al-Khuraiji said.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2564516/saudi-arabia
--------
Saudi
Arabia to host space tourism firm’s test flight
August
07, 2024
LONDON:
Saudi Arabia will host the next test flight of space tourism firm Halo Space,
it was announced on Wednesday.
In
collaboration with the Kingdom’s Communications, Space and Technology
Commission, or CST, the sixth Halo Space test flight in September will use a
life-size prototype capsule, Aurora, which will ascend to 30 km above the
Earth’s surface.
The
flight will be used to check and validate the integrated operation of all
critical systems developed over the past three years, the firm said.
“The
dates and location were set to ensure the reliable operation of our equipment
and safe conditions for the teams that will be on the ground operating the
flight,” said Alberto Castrillo, chief technology officer at Halo Space.
The CST
has been working with and supporting Halo Space since the start of the year,
overseeing preparations for the test flight.
It has
also been collaborating with other government entities such as the General
Authority of Civil Aviation to meet all regulatory requirements for the flight.
It said
that the decision to establish its flagship operational base and final assembly
site in Saudi Arabia underscored the Kingdom’s ideal conditions for space
exploration and its ambitions to be at the forefront of space tourism.
Halo
Space’s prototype capsule test flights are a prelude to the launch of manned
flights, expected to begin in 2025, to be followed by commercial flights in
2026.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2564441/saudi-arabia
---------
Saudi
students begin Oxford AI training
August
07, 2024
RIYADH:
A group of Saudi students who won gold medals at the National Olympiad for
Programming and Artificial Intelligence have joined the Oxford Scholars
Programme at Oxford University in the UK.
The 10
middle and high school students will undergo a two-week training in
programming, AI and machine learning, reported the Saudi Press Agency.
The
group will learn to apply algorithms to practical problems and explore the
ethical implications of AI technologies, as well as attending various workshops
and activities.
The
students, aged 14 to 18, will join others from around the world and receive a
certificate from the British Accreditation Council, along with an academic
recommendation for top universities.
The
National Olympiad for Programming and Artificial Intelligence was organized by
the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority, the Ministry of
Education, and the King Abdulaziz and His Companions Foundation for Giftedness
and Creativity.
Some 298
students competed in the final stage of the Olympiad, winning through from
260,000 students who registered for the competition. The aim was to train them
in competitive programming and AI, aligning with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030
to build national capabilities.
Source: arabnews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2564301/saudi-arabia
--------
Southeast Asia
Indonesia
Urges Ceasefire and Peace as Yahya Sinwar Takes Over Hamas Leadership
August 8, 2024
Jakarta.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has addressed the appointment of Yahya Sinwar as
the new Hamas leader following the death of Ismail Haniyeh in an Israeli strike
in Iran on July 31. Retno emphasized Indonesia's commitment to peace efforts
and the promotion of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“Our
focus remains on achieving peace, which involves advocating for a ceasefire and
ensuring that humanitarian aid can be delivered without obstacles,” Retno said
during a press conference at the Presidential Palace on Thursday.
Retno
reiterated Indonesia's support for a two-state solution as the basis for peace
between Israel and Palestine and announced a scheduled meeting with Palestinian
delegates later in the day.
Additionally,
Retno highlighted Indonesia's active role in supporting Palestinian
independence and its efforts to gain United Nations (UN) recognition for
Palestine.
“We are
at the forefront of advocating for international support for Palestinian UN
membership and recognition,” she added.
The
appointment of Sinwar, who played a key role in the October 7 attacks on Israel
and is known for his close ties with Iran, signals Hamas’s determination to
continue its resistance despite ongoing Israeli operations and the death of his
predecessor. This move is expected to heighten tensions with Israel, which has
prioritized Sinwar as a key target.
Source: jakartaglobe.id
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-urges-ceasefire-and-peace-as-yahya-sinwar-takes-over-hamas-leadership
--------
Malaysia’s
efforts to license social media platforms attract attention of many countries -
Fahmi
08-08-
2024
KUCHING:
Malaysia’s efforts to license social media platforms have attracted the
attention of several countries that have expressed interest in following the
move, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
He said
the United Kingdom (UK) communications regulatory body, Ofcom, was among those
which contacted the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC)
to find out more about the implementation of the initiative.
“Singapore
has also asked about the licensing process (however) it is important to
remember that other countries have other ways (of enforcement) according to the
applicable law in that country.
“I
believe that when we chair ASEAN 2025, more (countries) will want to know the
achievements and what we have managed to do based on the licensing process that
will come into effect on Jan 1, 2025,“ he said.
Fahmi
told reporters after officiating the ministry’s Sarawak zone 2023 Excellent
Service Award (APC), here today.
Earlier
in his opening speech, the minister said Malaysia’s move on license application
had ‘opened the eyes’ of other countries not to allow social media platforms to
continue to make a profit and violate the country’s laws.
“This is
the first time a western regulatory body (Ofcom) has contacted us and asked how
to license because they have been struggling to solve this issue for so long.
“So we
might be the first mover on this issue because on average many governments
around the world feel that these big technology companies can no longer do as
they please to accumulate wealth and not follow rules and laws... those days
will soon be over,“ he said. .
Previously,
Fahmi was reported to have said that any platform that does not have a license
after January 1, 2025 can be taken action in accordance with Section 126 of the
relevant act, based on guidelines built together and in accordance with the
Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
According
to the Unity Government spokesman, if found guilty the service provider can be
fined not more than RM500,000 or five years in prison or both, in addition to a
fine of RM1,000 per day or part of the day as long as the offence continues.
In the
Sarawak zone APC 2023, a total of 80 employees of departments under the
ministry in the state received the award.
Also
present were Communications Ministry senior undersecretary (management) Mazlan
Abd Mutalib, Broadcasting Department director-general Datuk Suhaimi Sulaiman
and Information Department director-general Julina Johan.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/local-news/malaysia-s-efforts-to-license-social-media-platforms-attract-attention-of-many-countries-fahmi-OI12831384
--------
Mohamad
voices Malaysia’s stance on Palestinian issue in emergency OIC meeting
08-08-
2024
KUALA
LUMPUR: Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan will voice Malaysia’s stance
on the Palestinian issue at the Emergency Meeting of the Executive Committee at
the Foreign Ministers’ level of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In a
Facebook post on Wednesday, Mohamad stated that the meeting, proposed by
Palestine and Iran, would discuss Israel’s ongoing settlement crimes against
the Palestinian people and Israel’s incursions and threats against Iran’s
sovereignty.
“I will
also deliver a statement on behalf of Malaysia condemning in the strongest
terms the mass killings and widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip by the
Israeli regime, including the recent brutal murder of Ismail Haniyeh in
Tehran,“ he said.
Meanwhile,
Mohamad mentioned that he also held meetings and discussions with his
counterparts from Iran, Pakistan, and Palestine.
The
emergency meeting was chaired by the Foreign Minister of Gambia, as the chair
of the 15th OIC Summit.
Previously,
in a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Mohamad’s
participation in the meeting also signified Malaysia’s commitment to the
struggle of the Palestinian people and Malaysia’s support for the establishment
of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State based on the pre-1967
borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Additionally,
Malaysia supports the admission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations
as a full member, according to the statement.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/local-news/mohamad-voices-malaysia-s-stance-on-palestinian-issue-in-emergency-oic-meeting-CI12831201
--------
‘Creating
new social media platform may not be practical’
08-08-
2024
PETALING
JAYA: Creating a new social media platform due to dissatisfaction with existing
ones may not be practical, said Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior
research fellow Dr Azmi Hassan.
He was
commenting on an Aug 4 announcement by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil,
who said the government is considering developing a social media app
specifically for Malaysians.
Azmi
said: “The country’s relatively small population of 34 million, 80% of which
are social media users, may not justify the high costs associated with
developing and maintaining such a platform.
“If
Malaysia had a population similar to China, then it would make sense but with
our current population, it would not be viable due to the expenses involved.”
In
justifying the proposed plan, Fahmi said some social media app providers profited
from Malaysians but failed to ensure user safety.
“We need
to study and assess the situation. It is not easy to develop a social media
platform but some countries have attempted it and we will also look into it.”
However,
he said developing such a platform is not a priority for the government.
“We are
more focused on pressing issues, such as reviving dilapidated schools and
clinics. If private companies in Malaysia wish to develop such platforms, we
would not stop them.”
He said
interested companies may contact the Science, Technology and Innovation
Ministry or the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation for assistance.
A poll
conducted by media and marketing expert Datuk Jake Abdullah on his LinkedIn
account showed out of 553 respondents, 93% opposed the development of a
Malaysian social media platform.
German
online data platform Statista conducted a study in June that revealed the most
popular social media platforms among Malaysians are Facebook, Instagram,
Facebook Messenger and LinkedIn.
Azmi
said this indicates scepticism and reluctance among Malaysians to use
government run platforms.
He
supported the government initiative to require social media platforms with over
eight million users to apply for a licence as part of new guidelines to address
scams and cyberbullying and stressed the need for stricter regulations.
“Stronger
regulatory measures could address issues such as scams or inappropriate
content. However, creating a social media platform just because of
dissatisfaction with current ones might not be practical.”
Universiti
Teknologi Mara Institute of Quality and Knowledge Advancement communications
head Dr Wan Hartini Wan Zainodin supported the government proposal as using a
local platform would be safer for data privacy and security.
“Adhering
to the Personal Data Protection Act 2010, which regulates the processing and
protection of personal data, would ensure we have greater control and can
enforce stricter compliance with local laws.
“It
would also stimulate the local digital economy with more opportunities for
technological development, job creation and local content development.”
He said
maintaining a Malaysian platform may be challenging as existing local portals
and systems have faced criticism for being intrusive, especially regarding data
harvesting and surveillance.
“To
address the issues, robust cybersecurity measures are essential, along with
expertise to manage potential security threats. If issues of data protection
and privacy are well managed, it would open opportunities for digital
engagement and economic activity.”
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/local-news/creating-new-social-media-platform-may-not-be-practical-II12830796
---------
Indonesia Urges Ceasefire and Peace as Yahya Sinwar Takes Over Hamas Leadership
August 8, 2024
Jakarta. Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi has addressed the appointment of Yahya Sinwar as the new Hamas leader following the death of Ismail Haniyeh in an Israeli strike in Iran on July 31. Retno emphasized Indonesia's commitment to peace efforts and the promotion of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
“Our focus remains on achieving peace, which involves advocating for a ceasefire and ensuring that humanitarian aid can be delivered without obstacles,” Retno said during a press conference at the Presidential Palace on Thursday.
Retno reiterated Indonesia's support for a two-state solution as the basis for peace between Israel and Palestine and announced a scheduled meeting with Palestinian delegates later in the day.
Additionally, Retno highlighted Indonesia's active role in supporting Palestinian independence and its efforts to gain United Nations (UN) recognition for Palestine.
“We are at the forefront of advocating for international support for Palestinian UN membership and recognition,” she added.
The appointment of Sinwar, who played a key role in the October 7 attacks on Israel and is known for his close ties with Iran, signals Hamas’s determination to continue its resistance despite ongoing Israeli operations and the death of his predecessor. This move is expected to heighten tensions with Israel, which has prioritized Sinwar as a key target.
Source: jakartaglobe.id
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-urges-ceasefire-and-peace-as-yahya-sinwar-takes-over-hamas-leadership
--------
Police
say didn’t call suspect in Albertine Leo case paedophile, only reported CSAM
discovery
08 Aug
2024
JOHOR
BARU, Aug 8 — Police said items seized from the home of the suspect in the
abduction of six-year-old Albertine Leo Jia Hui last month suggested a sexual
motive to the incident.
In a
press conference broadcast online today, Johor police chief M. Kumar also said
the incident appeared to be isolated.
“Further
investigations also revealed that the suspect had acted on his own and he did
not have any previous victims,” he said.
Kumar
also denied labelling the suspect a paedophile, saying his agency was not
qualified to make such an assessment.
Last
Sunday, it was reported that the suspect was rearrested by police following the
discovery of various sex toys and child sexual abuse material were found at his
residence near Kulai.
The
suspect was rearrested under Section 10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children
Act 2017 for possessing child sexual abuse material and Section 292 of the
Penal Code for possessing obscene material.
Section
10 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 carries imprisonment for up
to five years, a fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both while Section 292 of the
Penal Code carries imprisonment for up to three years, a fine, or both.
The
suspect is the fifth and sole suspect who is currently under his second remand
for the alleged abduction of Leo, following the arrest of four other suspects
by police on July 22 and 23.
He was
arrested on July 23, three days after the girl was reported missing at the Eco
Galleria shopping centre in Iskandar Puteri on July 20.
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/08/08/police-say-didnt-call-suspect-in-albertine-leo-case-paedophile-only-reported-csam-discovery/146386
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How does
Bangladesh in turmoil affect Malaysia, one of its top 10 trade partners
08 Aug
2024
KUALA
LUMPUR, Aug 8 — The ongoing political turbulence in Bangladesh has caused
ripples worldwide, not least in Malaysia which has significant investments in
the country totalling some US$872.30 million.
Bilateral
trade between both nations reached close to US$4 billion (RM17.9 billion)
between July 2022 and July 2023, according to a Bernama report last March.
Additionally,
there are 386 Malaysian companies registered to do business in Bangladesh.
On the
flipside, Bangladesh is a major manpower source country for Malaysia, which is
heavily reliant on migrant labour to fill hundreds of thousands of vacancies in
diverse sectors from plantations, manufacturing, agriculture, mining, and
construction to domestic services and food and beverage.
Domestically
for Malaysia, could the current situation in Bangladesh shake up our economy,
and if yes, to what extent?
“The
current riots in Bangladesh don’t affect Malaysia at all, because the workers
who were supposed to come in, have already come in,” Sukumaran Nair, an
independent consultant for foreign workers’ affairs, told Malay Mail when
contacted.
He noted
that the bulk of Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia are deployed in the plantation
sector, adding that if that sector were affected, the government has
alternatives.
“The
first choice is Indonesia and the second choice is Bangladesh. If we can bring
in workers from Indonesia, we have no problem,” he said.
For now
though, he said Malaysian companies in the plantation sector have nothing to
worry about as the “government has already given enough quota” to those in need
of field workers.
Local
think tank National Human Resources Association Malaysia president, Zarina
Ismail, shared Sukumaran’s views.
“Of
course there will be changes, but how far this is going to impact us, I cannot
say accurately.
“What I
understand now is that the government is not bringing in foreign workers except
those in the plantation sector. I don’t think we will be badly affected,” she
told Malay Mail.
Like
Sukumaran, Zarina said that should the unrest prolong to the point its external
economy is disrupted, the Malaysian government could tap other manpower source
countries like Nepal.
Consultant
Wong Chun Hung who works with JNT Manpower Solutions said his agency would turn
to Nepal if tensions in Bangladesh persist.
“The
Bangladeshi workers we bring in are mostly for cleaning work,” he said.
He
related that his agency previously brought them in to work in the construction
sector, but added that most of them are now in the sanitation sector.
“The
situation in Bangladesh might affect a little, but we can still bring in
Nepalese, so it should be okay,” he said.
More
than 400,000 Bangladeshis have travelled to Malaysia since 2022, when border
restrictions were lifted post pandemic, according to Bangladeshi news portal
The Daily Star, citing the country’s Bureau of Manpower Employment and
Training.
Source: malaymail.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/08/08/how-does-bangladesh-in-turmoil-affect-malaysia-one-of-its-top-10-trade-partners/146328
---------
New
Infineon fab in Kulim marks significant milestone for Kedah, Malaysia - Anwar
08-08-
2024
KULIM:
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the opening of Infineon
Technologies’s 200-milimeter silicon carbide (SiC) power semiconductor
fabrication plant here marks a significant milestone for Kedah and Malaysia.
He said
the new plant will showcase Malaysia globally in attracting investments.
“Infineon’s
decision (to invest in Malaysia) is surely for good reasons, (such as) for the
infrastructure, attractive incentive and for the professional workforce
discipline.
“Their
presence to invest in the world’s largest 200mm silicone power fab alone is a
major selling point for us in the country,” he said in his speech at the
opening ceremony of Infineon Technologies Kulim 3 at Kulim Hi-Tech Park, here
today.
Also
present were Investment Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul
Abdul Aziz, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and Infineon
Technologies AG chief executive officer Jochen Hanebeck.
Anwar
said that Infineon’s presence in the country, along with its latest
manufacturing plant, represents not only an entry into what is considered a new
technology but also a highly focused and precise industry.
“I want
Malaysians to understand that this development is the result of research by
highly skilled professionals, dedicated workers, and great
discipline...Infineon is a major semiconductor enterprise and fab industry, and
it is now at the cutting edge in this field,” he said.
The
Prime Minister said that Malaysia has been recognised for its ability to adopt
outstanding technology, which now caters to front-end processes and
demonstrates that Malaysia has moved up the ladder.
“We need
to be prepared, the infrastructure must be excellent. This involves KHTP, state
government, and federal agencies. We should not and cannot tolerate
inefficiency or any delays. When companies like Infineon show interest in
investing, we must reciprocate with clear commitment.
“Why is
Malaysia now regarded as the hub in the region for ecosystems? We can compete
with our neighbours because we have had the edge for the last two or three
decades. The ecosystem helps, but it needs to be improved. I always emphasize
the need for resilience. A culture of complacency and contentment will not lead
us anywhere,” he said.
Anwar
acknowledged that there would be some other challenges, but the government will
do whatever is necessary to ensure that the country remains a very attractive
investment destination for investors.
He also
stressed that Malaysia cannot expect to be regarded as a successful player in
this new technology if it continues to work at a normal pace.
“Malaysia
is now considered a hub for the semiconductor industry. This is a remarkable
feat, thanks to all the players for their contributions. However, my concern,
as I’ve mentioned, is that we are not sitting on our laurels.
“We are
pushing forward, and to advance that agenda means all agencies, all
departments, and all levels of professionalism must elevate the discussion.
This needs to be emphasised,” he said.
Source: thesun.my
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://thesun.my/local-news/new-infineon-fab-in-kulim-marks-significant-milestone-for-kedah-malaysia-anwar-KI12832989
--------
Africa
Tunisia's
president dismisses Prime Minister, names new successor
08-08-24
Tunisian
President Kais Saied dismissed Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani Wednesday after
just a year in office.
Said
appointed Kamel Maddouri, the Minister of Social Affairs, to take over the
role, the presidency said in a statement.
Hachani
had expressed in a video message just hours prior to his removal that the
government had achieved progress on several fronts, despite challenges related
to high food and energy prices.
The
dismissal occurs during widespread dissatisfaction with ongoing water and
electricity outages across the nation.
The
government attributes these issues to a persistent drought, which has prompted
water rationing.
The
agriculture ministry reports that the dam level is critically low at 25
percent, while Saied perceives the water shortages as a conspiracy ahead of the
presidential election, asserting that the dams are actually at full capacity.
Saied
declared his intention to run for president in October, facing significant
backlash from the opposition, human rights organizations, and other candidates
who accuse him of suppressing and intimidating rivals to secure a second term.
Source: africanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.africanews.com/2024/08/08/tunisias-president-dismisses-prime-minister-names-new-successor/
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Tunisian
opposition figure Moussi sentenced to prison ahead of October election
A
potential presidential candidate in Tunisia has been sentenced to two years in
prison, marking another setback to the country’s fledgling opposition
challenging President Kais Saied as he seeks a new term.
Abir
Moussi, a 49-year-old lawyer and the head of the right-wing Free Destourian
Party, was arrested in October after criticizing the electoral process and
presidential decrees guiding it, alleging a lack of transparency.
Following
a complaint by the North African nation's election authority, she was found
guilty of violating a controversial anti-fake news decree outlawing spreading
information that slanders or harms others. The law has been widely used to
prosecute those who criticize authorities.
Moussi’s
lawyer Nafaa Laribi told The Associated Press on Tuesday that she still intends
to run in the Oct. 6 presidential election, and that, unlike other candidates,
nothing in Monday's sentence prevents her from running.
Laribi
said Moussi's morale remained high, and he planned to appeal.
The
sentence is the latest in a growing crackdown that observers have said is
politically motivated against Saied's critics, regardless of political
affiliation.
With
Moussi and other leading opposition figures in prison, Saied is expected to
face little election competition in what was once the Middle East and North
Africa’s most progressive democracy.
Moussi
appeals to parts of the population nostalgic for Tunisia’s pre-revolutionary
era. A strong critic of Islamists such as imprisoned Ennahda leader Rached
Ghannouchi, Moussi was an official in longtime President Zine El Abidine Ben
Ali’s ruling party. Over the years, she became one of the country’s most
popular and contentious political figures.
Source: africanews.com
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https://www.africanews.com/2024/08/07/tunisian-opposition-figure-moussi-sentenced-to-prison-ahead-of-october-election/
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‘Tinubu’s
Speech Empty, FG Should Stop Giving Excuses’ – Governor Bala Mohammed
7 August
2024
The
Governor of Bauchi State, Bala Mohammed, on Wednesday, described the nationwide
address of President Bola Tinubu to Nigerians in the wake of the #EndBadGovernance
protest as ’empty speech’.
Tinubu,
in his address, on Sunday, called on protesters to cease their demonstrations
and open room for dialogue, saying there was no going back on the removal of
fuel subsidy.
Mohammed,
however, while speaking during the flag-off of the Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) campaign for the local government election in Bauchi, said the Federal
Government should stop giving excuses to Nigerians.
He said,
“I listened to Mr President’s speech with rapt attention and with all humility
and courage that what he said was empty.
“He did
not agree with the situation, he did not address the problems and challenges.
The problems are not his alone but for all of us leaders from the presidency to
the sub-national down to the local government.
“We can
see that the manifestations have different colourations. In the North, it is a
very big wake-up call for us, to bring good governance and respect for people.
There is anger and hunger, we have to address our problems of development.
“The new
policy thrust of the Federal Government is not working. They have to understand
that and it is their problem and their program that has caused all these
problems, so they have to change.
“I have
heard and with regrettable attention that some of the ministers of the Federal
Government saying that we have been given 70 trucks and five hundred and
something million, how much did the Federal Government make, and what did they
do with it?”
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/07/tinubus-speech-empty-fg-should-stop-giving-excuses-governor-bala-mohammed/
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‘Security
Operatives Knew Kano Would Be Attacked And They Allowed It’ – Sanusi
7 August
2024
The 16th
Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Wednesday, said intelligence failure led
to the attacks on public and private properties during the #EndBadGovernance
protest in the state.
Sanusi
made this claim when he visited Kano Printing Press, The NCC Digital Industrial
Park and Barakat Stores.
According
to the Emir, the security were notified of the plans for the attacks on some of
the properties days before it occurred.
He said,
“As we used to say, whoever had a hand in this is an enemy of Kano and he is an
enemy to its people. What happened in Kano whoever saw them knew were planned.
Kano was billed to be destroyed but we pray that God will not let them succeed.
May God return all that was lost, we can only pray.
“Before
this happened, the security operatives were notified in writing that it is
going to happen but instead of preventing it, it was allowed to happen. Whoever
did good knows, whoever did bad knows and they all will see their result. We
pray that God gives the government opportunity to return it.
“My
grandfather had worked here (Kano printing press). It is sad that a place like
this is destroyed by their grandchildren.
“We pray
that God comes to the aid of these youth and whoever is behind it God will deal
with them. We pray that we may not witness anything like this in the future. I
swear to Almighty God those bent on destroying Kano will not succeed and God
willing, the way they saw Kano they will leave it like that.”
The
Commissioner, ministry of science and technology and ICT, Muhammad Tajo Othman,
said the state government had gotten the approval and assurance of the minister
to restore the building into shape and restore the looted items.
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/07/security-operatives-knew-kano-would-be-attacked-and-they-allowed-it-sanusi/
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‘Security Operatives Knew Kano Would Be Attacked And They Allowed It’ – Sanusi
7 August 2024
The 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, on Wednesday, said intelligence failure led to the attacks on public and private properties during the #EndBadGovernance protest in the state.
Sanusi made this claim when he visited Kano Printing Press, The NCC Digital Industrial Park and Barakat Stores.
According to the Emir, the security were notified of the plans for the attacks on some of the properties days before it occurred.
He said, “As we used to say, whoever had a hand in this is an enemy of Kano and he is an enemy to its people. What happened in Kano whoever saw them knew were planned. Kano was billed to be destroyed but we pray that God will not let them succeed. May God return all that was lost, we can only pray.
“Before this happened, the security operatives were notified in writing that it is going to happen but instead of preventing it, it was allowed to happen. Whoever did good knows, whoever did bad knows and they all will see their result. We pray that God gives the government opportunity to return it.
“My grandfather had worked here (Kano printing press). It is sad that a place like this is destroyed by their grandchildren.
“We pray that God comes to the aid of these youth and whoever is behind it God will deal with them. We pray that we may not witness anything like this in the future. I swear to Almighty God those bent on destroying Kano will not succeed and God willing, the way they saw Kano they will leave it like that.”
The Commissioner, ministry of science and technology and ICT, Muhammad Tajo Othman, said the state government had gotten the approval and assurance of the minister to restore the building into shape and restore the looted items.
Source: naijanews.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://www.naijanews.com/2024/08/07/security-operatives-knew-kano-would-be-attacked-and-they-allowed-it-sanusi/
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Soldiers
rescue abducted ex-LG chairman, arrest Boko Haram commanders, others
7th
August 2024
In a
series of operations, the Nigerian Army has rescued kidnap victims and
apprehended suspected Boko Haram commanders and terrorist logistic suppliers,
among others.
In a
statement shared on X.com on Tuesday, the NA revealed that soldiers rescued an
abducted former LG chairman and arrested a notorious kidnapping kingpin in Egbe
Community of Yagba Local Government Area in Kogi State.
The
statement partly read, “The suspect, Mohammed Bello, who belonged to a
seven-man syndicate specialised in kidnapping unsuspecting citizens, has been
on the security agencies’ wanted criminals’ watchlist.
“The
same troops responded to a distress call regarding a kidnapping incident
involving the former Chairman of Kabba Local Government Area.
“They
engaged the terrorists in Egbe Forest, capturing one suspect and rescuing the
victim. He has since been reunited with his family.”
Similarly,
soldiers in Ebonyi State were said to have aborted a kidnap attempt in
Ezza-Umuhuali Village of Ishielu Local Government Area and arrested a suspect
in possession of an Automated Teller Machine card, 48 different international
passports, and other items.
Additionally,
the army said its troops apprehended two key Boko Haram commanders in Borno
State who had been linked to several attacks on military installations.
The statement added, “On 4 August 2024 in
Borno State, while acting on credible intelligence regarding terrorists’
movements, troops apprehended two Boko Haram commanders who infiltrated the
Damasak Internally Displaced Persons camp in Mobbar Local Government Area.
“The
suspects, Bana Yamode and Babagana Usman, who claimed to be visiting their
families in the camp, had previously led attacks on troops in the area.”
In the
same operation, the troops also apprehended two suspected Boko Haram logistic
suppliers, identified as Mustapha Ismaila, 49, and Abdulmudalabi Haruna, 30,
and rescued two minors.
Meanwhile,
50 Boko Haram suspects and their families were said to have surrendered to
soldiers stationed in Bama, Gwoza, and Dikwa Local Government Areas, following
intensified operations against the terrorists.
In a
separate operation in Yobe State, three Boko Haram collaborators, who admitted
to being involved in kidnapping and armed robbery activities, were reported to
have been arrested at Gubio Market in Gubio Local Government Area of the state.
The
statement also reported that troops deployed in Jigawa State arrested nine
hoodlums involved in looting a shop in Kazaure town, recovering items including
255 bags of fertilizer, three bags of rice, a solar panel, and five
motorcycles.
Source: punchng.com
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the text of the original Story
https://punchng.com/soldiers-rescue-abducted-ex-lg-chairman-arrest-boko-haram-commanders-others/
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Why
Amnesty For Boko Haram Fighters Is Ineffective -NHRC Boss
8 Aug
2024
The
Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr
Anthony Ojukwu, has said the policy of amnesty for repentant Boko Haram is not
effective due to the seeming abandonment of the victims of the insurgency.
He said
this on Wednesday in Abuja at the 5th 2024 National Summit on Mass Atrocities,
organised by Global Rights-Nigeria and Open Society-Africa, with the theme ‘A
Standing Responsibility to Protect’.
“While
the victims still feel neglected and cheated, they feel that the repentant
insurgents are getting more attention than them,” Ojukwu said.
He also
said the return of some of the repentant Boko Haram insurgents to extremism
after they were previously empowered was also a factor to be addressed.
“The
NHRC’s approach recognizes that while military action can dislodge insurgents,
it cannot guarantee lasting peace on its own. Therefore, the commission
emphasises rebuilding communities and enhancing the welfare of citizens to
sustain security through human development,” he said.
The
Executive Director, Global Rights, Ms. Abiodun Baiyewu, said in the past five
years, over 24,816 people were killed in incidents of mass atrocities across
Nigeria, while 15,597 were kidnapped.
“As is
obvious to all, we are at a precarious moment in our nation’s trajectory. For
the past seven days, enraged Nigerians have taken to the streets to demand an
end to bad governance. Overcome by impossible costs of living and the continued
metastasis of the nation’s multiple forms of insecurity, they have felt the
need to demand for the government to fulfill their end of the social contract
that is implicit between citizens and their government.
“For the
government to step to the plate and fulfill its constitutional mandate of
ensuring the welfare and the security of all citizens. The gravity of our
situation is further underscored by our data, which reveals that in the past
five years alone, at least 24,816 people have been killed, and at least 15,597
have been kidnapped in incidents of mass atrocities across Nigeria.
“These
numbers are not mere statistics; they represent lives disrupted, dreams
shattered, families torn apart, and communities left in anguish. The abducted
and the dead are not the only casualties of endemic insecurity, there are over
3.4 million internally displaced people within our border, and about 100,000
refugees in our neighbouring countries.
“In 2023
alone, at least 457,000 people were displaced across Nigeria, with insecurity
accounting for 291,000 of these displacements, nearly double the 148,000
recorded in 2022,” Baiyewu said.
Speaking
on the dynamics of mass atrocities in Nigeria, the Chair, Community of Practice
Against Mass Atrocities, Dr Ken Henshaw, said mass killings in Nigeria are on
the rise and extended to every part of the country, taking on new patterns and
audacity.
He said data
available to the organisation shows that Nigeria recorded a total of 4,416 mass
atrocities killings in 2023, including 1,136 in North West, 904 in North East,
1,600 in North Central, 344 in South East, 272 in South South and 160 in South
West.
He said
the killings were as a result of insurgency in South East, robberies and
kidnapping in South West, banditry, and farmer-herder clashes in North Central
and gangs in South South.
Source: dailytrust.com
Please click the following URL to read
the text of the original Story
https://dailytrust.com/why-amnesty-for-boko-haram-fighters-is-ineffective-nhrc-boss/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/muslim-council-britain-riots-urges-unity/d/132895